Category: Guitar Pickup Demo

buy Playmaker single

The Playmaker humbucker set is a clear sounding guitar pickup set made for genres from classic rock to heavy blues.

Designed for its dynamics, this humbucker set reacts to your playing style and volume settings. They clean up when you back off. They give you the grit you’re looking for when you dig in. The perfect pickup for classic rock or dirty blues. Whether you’re pushing an amp, using pedals or using amp modeling.

Playmaker humbucker set electric guitar pickup

The Playmaker was designed for players who need a guitar pickup with a little more than a PAF. But without being an over the top rock pickup set. They have a little more power and bite than a traditional PAF. The Playmaker’s dynamics and touch sensitivity help you stand out from the mix.

These pickups were designed around Gibson scale lengths. But they are also a good match for the Kokako Strat neck and middle pickups as a HSS set.

A big part of the testing process involved playing through various classic overdrive pedals as well as amplifiers. Both neck and bridge pickups had to work well with a Tube Screamer, Klon, Blues Driver and fuzz. Not to forget amp modelling, it’s a big part of modern playing.

Here Warren Mendonsa shows the dynamics of the pickups change when he uses the volume controls. The Playmakers respond to his pick attack, that creates huge possibilities for varying your tone and feel. Back off and the Playmaker backs off with you. Dig in and they sing.

Playmaker bridge pickup

The Playmaker bridge pickup was designed with pedals in mind. A part of the testing process was about voicing these pickups to be used with various overdrives. Tube Screamer, Klon and Blues Driver as well as natural amp overdrive were all used as test sounds.

Overdrive stacking is a big part of a lot of player’s sound. The Playmaker set was tested with this in mind.

The bridge pickup is wound asymmetrically and powered by an alnico IV magnet. This gives it better tonal balance than the slightly scooped alnico V magnet. But there’s more power than the alnico II in a PAF. The alnico IV delivers just the right amount of power. It is designed to respond well to variations in pick attack giving the dynamics that blues players need. It maintains its transparency and clarity when using the guitar volume giving you great onboard control.

Playmaker neck pickup

The neck pickup is also wound asymmetrically and uses an alnico 2 magnet to maintain a mid range balance.

The reason for the asymmetry is to give greater mid range clarity and that neck pickup chime. It loves clean funky rhythm lines as well as singing leads. This is a neck pickup that wants to be played, not just an ornament. It’s great for rhythm parts that stand out in a mix. But it’s not shy if you’re having a Gary Moore or Santana moment.

Here’s another example of the bridge and neck pickups.

Here is a short video showing some of my thoughts on the Playmaker and how they sound.

The Development of the Playmaker humbucker set

The idea behind this pickup came originally from Ben Sargent. He’s a well respected guitar repairer in Wellington NZ. He has fitted many sets of my pickups as well as using them himself.

He called me in late 2024 with an idea. He’d been thinking I should make a pickup between my Integrity PAF range and the Cloud Nine rock pickup set. Something that would react to changes in the player’s attack. A humbucker set that would be equally happy played clean or dirty.

It seemed like a great idea. We agreed it needed to be something different, not just an over wound PAF. So that summer the idea was churning around in my head.

Spending time thinking can often be more productive than time spent winding coils.

In February 2025 I got down to work making prototypes. As for all my pickups when I felt I was close I swapped the pickups into different guitars. Testing with various scale lengths and body woods is essential. I need to hear them in different situations.

I tested them with many different amps and overdrive pedals and with the band. At that time the band was auditioning for a new drummer. It was the perfect environment to try the pickups in different situations. The drummer makes a big difference to how the pickup’s low end responds in a mix. Within a month I got to test them with 2 different bass players and a half a dozen drummers. Its important to play next to a drummer and bass player. You just don’t know how a pickup will react until its up loud in a mix.

Playing live is an essential part of my testing. That is when you hear how the bottom end sits in a mix. It is easy to make a pickup too boomy. It is only in a band situation that you really know how it sits. A lot of makers skip this stage. It certainly makes the design process longer but I intend to use this design for the rest of my life. I don’t care how long the prototyping stage takes, it needs to be right.

When I was happy I sent a set down to Ben in Wellington to get his take on them. He’s a very different player to me so his contribution really mattered. He was happy with them – so I was too.

Available with 52mm or 49.2mm bridge pickup spacing, 4 conductor wire is standard but I’m happy to use braided if you prefer.

These pickups are happiest with 500k Ohm volume and tone pots and 50’s style wiring in Gibson type guitars. The choice of capacitor is up to you but I like 0.022microfarad. Great with either modern wiring or 50’s wiring though my preference is 50’s.

The bridge pickup is great in HSS Strats alongside either my Kokako or Tui single coils. The neck pickup is ideal as a neck humbucker with my Cruel Mistress or Duchess bridge pickups.

To celebrate NZ Music Month in May ’25 I recorded a riff every day for a month. Every riff was from a New Zealand artist. and they were all recorded using a Playmaker set in a Les Paul. I wanted to show the versatility of this pickup set. Here are all 31 riffs. I think you’ll agree this set of pickups will do just about anything you ask of them.

Cover options

Here are some options for the look of your new pickups.

Don’t forget, if you want your pickups aged you just have to ask. I’ll ask you for some pictures and do my best to match the ageing of your guitar. Here is some more info on guitar pickup ageing.

Humbucker cover options Mr Glyns Pickups

example of pickup cover aging by MrGlyns Pickups

buy Playmaker set

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Warwolf

buy Playmaker single

For video demos of pickups and more here is Mr Glyn’s Pickups Youtube channel.

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Integrity alnico 2 vintage voiced humbucker

Cloud Nine hot humbucker Mr Glyns pickups

updated 12 December 2024

Posted on December 12, 2024October 13, 2025 by mrglynspickups — Leave a comment

Warwolf

Extreme metal pickup

Single NZ$219 for NZ customers, if you’re overseas it’s GST free; NZ$190.43

Pair NZ$399 for NZ customers, if you’re overseas they’re GST free; NZ$346.96

Ceramic x2 – Bridge 9.5KOhms, 6.74H, Ceramic- Neck 8.2KOhms 5.58H

buy Warwolf set

buy Warwolf single

The Warwolf is a brutal, hard hitting guitar pickup set designed for extreme metal in drop tunings.

Immediate, punchy bass, smooth mids with plenty of character and a present top end give these pickups the ability to cut through the mix no matter how low your tuning. The combination of brutality and clarity make the Warwolf essential both on stage and in the studio.

The bridge humbucker has the bite and grunt to power your riffs and bring them out in the mix. The neck humbucker has a bell like clarity perfect for clean passages or fat lead tones.

There is plenty of power to push the front end of a 5150 but with a frequency response to work with amp modeling.

The Warwolf doesn’t have the spec you might expect from a powerful pickup but this has been a re-think of the requirements of pickups for metal guitar and a re-working of what is actually needed to produce a crushing tone in both sound and feel.

At the beginning of the process I had assumed I needed coils with high dc resistance but I discovered that was not the case. To get the maximum punch, clarity and dynamics this pickup has a lower powered coil but big magnets. The coils produce clarity and a balanced frequency range. Big magnets give a big punch. It’s all about the immediacy of the note. To achieve that brutal feel the note needs to start and stop instantly, that comes from the magnets.

warwolf single extreme metal pickup — Warwolf

The Concept

The oversized ceramic magnets in the bridge pickup are asymmetrically mounted to emphasize one coil over another, the idea is to reduce the magnetic window to give the pickup character and focus.

The neck pickup has a more conventional magnetic symmetry.

Although this style of guitar pickup needs a certain amount of power that is not the whole story. Without clarity and punch it’s worthless. Ceramic magnets give a dryer, more immediate attack than alnico. We don’t want a warm smooth, soggy bass – it needs to react instantly, have an immediate kick.

Ceramic can be guilty of sounding scooped but with the coils providing mid range there’s a balance. The treble is present but not harsh. The winding method provides clarity- it’s all about clarity.

Sound Sample

Here is the Warwolf in a mix:

Warwolf in a mix

And the guitar tracks isolated:

Guitar Isolated

The Design

Here is the design concept of both neck and bridge pickups described in my own words:

Warwolf extreme metal pickup set MrGlyns Pickups

The Backstory

The design of this pickup set started back in August 2020 when I approached Raj Singarajah from Dynamic Rage Studio to be the ‘test pilot’ for this project. Some musical genres need expert ears and I knew I needed someone with taste and experience to steer my designs.

After about 6 months of prototypes we had what we were after. That time taught me a lot about designing pickups for this extremely demanding style. It was then that I realized that I had to manufacture so many difficult parts for this particular pickup that is just wasn’t going to be practical for me to make in any quantity. The project got put on hold. But I had learnt a lot about what a pickup was required to do to work in this very difficult environment.

Then at the beginning of 2022 I was contacted by New Zealand band Alien Weaponry to make a signature pickup for guitarist Lewis DeJong. I thought this was where I could use my design ideas. But one of the design requirements for Lewis’ pickup was it needed to have a sound similar to their last album so they could tour with it. My ideas about lower impedance weren’t going to work. Lewis’ set up is old school using Marshall heads powering 4×12’s so I took a more traditional approach to his pickup. You can find out more about the signature pickup for Lewis DeJong from Alien Weaponry here.

The idea for my extreme metal pickup was still churning around in my head but I needed help to get it off the ground.

Then in July 2024 I saw a post on Facebook by Richie Simpson. Richie is an award winning artist and producer of New Way Home and City of Souls. He had been a customer of mine when I was repairing guitars. I remembered he had been for ever swapping pickups in his many guitars searching for a tone.

He had experience of all the metal pickups out there, he’s a great player, knows this genre intimately and is a top human being. So I messaged him and he said yes. There followed a long phone conversation to establish what the brief was. It really felt we were on the same page.

A week later I was at his studio with a guitar loaded with the first prototypes. I was quite prepared for these first pickups to be a total failure, I just needed to sound him out. I needed to find out what sound was in his head and the best way to do that was to have an example with me. But I also wanted my idea to work.

When I got to his studio Richie was tracking guitars. We listened to one of his guitars with a ‘boutique’ pickup in the bridge position, then plugged in the Warwolf to A/B. I could tell from his face he was ‘feeling it’.

The neck pickup was right first time and the bridge was close. I’d won round 1 on clarity and punch. It turned out that was his #2 guitar.

So now for the #1.

It was pretty obvious this was no longer just a concept- this was the real thing.

He kept that guitar for a week to get a feel for it and to make sure it was exactly right. It was close but not quite there. We had a chat, I made another.

Then he came to my workshop and I fitted a set into one of his guitars to see how that worked.

A week later we talked. He was completely happy with the neck pickup but the bridge needed more mids. That’s how it proceeded for a few months.

I tweaked the design. Time passed and he wanted that pickup in his number one guitar just to eliminate the difference in the guitar bodies.

Whenever I collaborate with a player I’m very aware that each guitar sounds different. My test guitar for this genre is a very neutral sounding basswood body 25.5 inch scale LTD guitar. It’s got a very even frequency response so ideal for testing.

The plan is to get the pickups sounding good in this guitar and then transfer them to the player’s guitar to compare.

The body wood does make a difference – I find it unbelievable that debate is still going on. I swap a lot of pickups and the guitar they’re going into matters, I wish it didn’t. Just listen to two electric guitars played acoustically, that’s the sound the pickups are hearing.

A Player’s Perspective

Here it is in Richie’s words:

August 2024

The Warwolf is much more than your average over compressed, one dimensional metal pickup. Through a fastidious back and forth phase over the course of 6 months, using multiple guitars and amps, a balance was struck.

The brief: “Classic, punchy nineties heavy tone. Attack, tightness, aggression and detail while retaining balance, bloom, string separation and weight to chords. Ideal for alternative or groove metal, thrash and heavy rock.

If mid nineties Jerry Cantrell, Steph Carpenter and Dimebag Darrell had a baby with Terry Date”

Using more robust rails and larger powerful ceramic magnets has allowed for a more open wind while still maintaining the snap and mid range aggression required for heavy music. Avoiding the brittle harshness often associated with ceramic rails.

The Warwolf punches when it chugs, steering away from clanky single coil-esque pick attack and the upper mid bias cliche of many metal pickups. It’s open, organic and balanced nature gives size to a mix, width and note separation to chords under high gain while retaining excellent tightness, a commanding mid range bark and muscular thump during palm muting.

Response to your playing feels natural, without the sense you are fighting with a loose, low output pickup or conversely like the pickup is doing all the driving for you and hiding nuance or preventing clean up. Just enough compression for a mean high gain rhythm tone while still letting your right hand do the talking (Or yelling).

Leads are clear and liquid. Mid gain and clean tones are full and balanced but if you play aggressively, the Warwolf will tear your face right off and drop it back at your feet.

“This is what I’ve been after for a LONG time”.

When you bend a note on these pickups you don’t get strings dropping out as they pass over different bobbins, or if other strings are ringing out they’re not cutting through the bending string signal and vice versa. That’s the beauty of Glyn’s rail design.

The magnetic field is balanced more evenly across the strings and that opens a lot of doors to ideas that might only translate with this kind of pickup. The Warwolf design does something to the mid range that I really dig too. Like a harmonic overtone smearing that is really pleasing for heavy riffs. With each strings signal being represented in a more evenly powered way you can almost get the feel of a boost pedal or active pickup while retaining the more expressive dynamic range of a passive.

That feel responds well to a boost pedal if you are so inclined and doesn’t squish out or lose definition like a super hot pickup can.

I genuinely love how these things feel and sound. They’re unique and alive, translate well to a mix and most importantly they make me want to play! (Not to mention they look cool as hell) Glyn has absolutely nailed it.”

The Warwolf name

It’s always hard choosing a name but this one comes with a story.

I wanted a name that would represent a heavy crushing force, something fearful and powerful.

The Warwolf was the largest trebuchet ever made. It was built in 1304 for king Edward I of England during the siege of Stirling Castle in Scotland.

It took so long to build that the siege was over by the time it was completed. He used it anyway.

Edward I was my 24th great grandfather.

Here’s a fun Hollywood reconstruction of the Warwolf trebuchet

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Posted on September 23, 2024October 13, 2025 by mrglynspickups — Leave a comment

Blue 90

Single – Blue 90 NZ$199 for NZ customers, if you’re overseas it’s GST free; NZ$173.04

Pair – Blue 90 NZ$379 for NZ customers, if you’re overseas they’re GST free; NZ$329.57

Alnico V, Neck- 6.5 KOhms, Alnico V, Bridge 7.46 KOhms

buy Blue 90 set

This link will take you to all my P90 demos.

buy Blue 90 single

The Blue 90 is a dynamic, clear, balanced P90 pickup set. It has a little less low end push than a traditional P90 but with clearer highs. They’re designed for the player wanting a clean sounding P90 tone but with the ability to push an amp when asked. Ideal for clean tones, jazz, funk and blues.

Blue 90 Tone

The phrase ‘fat single coil’ is really the essence of this pickup set. They have a full, chiming tone but with the dynamics of a true single coil pickup. They have that distinctive P90 tone but with more clarity. If you ask them they will push your amp into overdrive but less than my Sassy P90 set. They have the magnetic and coil geometry of a P90 but the under wound coil gives a clearer, more dynamic tone.

Blue 90 P90 pickup soapbar style in cream, MrGlyns Pickups

The Concept

I had been thinking for a while about making another P90 set. Something a little less powerful than the Sassy P90 pickup but with more sparkle than the smooth Cool 90 pickup.

I had experimented a little with under winding the Sassy and really liked the results. I liked the dynamics and how well it worked with modulation effects and delays giving a well balanced platform for these effects to shine. With my prototypes I had reduced the lower mid range ‘clonk’ that traditional P90’s have. It seemed like a pickup with a definite place in then World..

It felt to me like a very useful set of tones and I needed to investigate more. Like with many designs I hadn’t done much about it other than making a prototype, playing around with it, taking it to a gig to hear it next to a drummer and leaving it at that. I always liked this design, I just didn’t get around to putting them up for sale.

The Blue 90 story

Then in September 2024 I received a phone call from guitarist Nick Granville.

Nick has a few of my pickups in various guitars and I have huge admiration for his playing. He knows guitars and he knows tone.

The reason he called was that he had a problem with a P90 loaded guitar (not my P90’s). He wanted a cleaner P90 tone.

Like many pro players he’s very good at describing sound and his requirements. I felt my Sassy P90 set might be a bit grunty for him so after a little think I decided my new P90 idea might suit his needs.

For me this is a great situation where I get to borrow the ears of a top pro player to test out a new pickup. Although I had done a lot of testing myself already I knew that if Nick liked these pickups it would push it over the line and I’d have a new model. I always have prototypes on the go, sometimes it just needs a nudge.

I wound a set, sent them to him and a few days later got a message which read:

“They really do sound good. Have a nice sparkle but still sound like P90’s, and enough push to get it driving enough and vintage in vibe. I like them a lot.”

So that was it, a new pickup set was born. I’m very pleased to welcome this new P90 set to my website.

Available in dogear or Soapbar, black or cream. If you’re ordering Dogear (or even if you aren’t) I’m happy to send you a 3D printing file for height shims.

updated 5 May 2025

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updated 3 April 2023

Posted on July 24, 2024November 17, 2025 by mrglynspickups — Leave a comment

Musicmaster Bass Pickup

Single Musicmaster Bass Pickup– NZ$165 for NZ customers, if you’re overseas it’s GST free; NZ$143.48

Alnico V – 6.8 kOhms – ’51 Telecaster Bass spec

Or Alnico V – 5.7 kOhms – Original ‘70’s Strat spec

Buy Musicmaster Bass

From its humble beginnings the Musicmaster Bass has become a classic. Beloved of Indie bands, studio engineers and offset fans. The Musicmaster Bass has begun to make its way in the world and leave its mark on music.

Musicmaster Bass pickup by MrGlyns Pickups — Musicmaster Bass Pickup

The Problem with the Musicmaster Bass Pickup

Designed originally to be a ‘student model’ short scale, Fender cut quite a few corners to reduce the cost. This was the 1970’s and the accountants had a big say at Fender. This was an instrument made down to a price not up to a standard. But despite the obvious cost cutting I still have a soft spot for the Musicmaster. They were cheap but that doesn’t mean they weren’t good.

The basic bones of the Musicmaster are good. Short scale bass with a small body makes a lot of sense. But there was a problem with the pickup.

Rather than design a pickup specifically for this guitar Fender instead used a Stratocaster. Then they hid it inside a blank cover.

Here is the problem with using a Stratocaster pickup with a 4 string bass. The red lines are the strings and the black dots are the pickup magnets.

It’s pretty obvious that the magnetic pole pieces just don’t line up with the middle strings.

The pickup wasn’t visible under that blank cover and they decided it didn’t matter on a budget bass anyway. So that’s how it was.

The Solution

In July 2024 I was contacted by my Neville Claughton from Nelson. He had an original ‘73 in need of a new pickup.

Nev is a legend in NZ, he’s been well known in the music business for ever and I have huge respect for him.

His request got me thinking so I decided to make my own version of the Musicmaster pickup but with 4 poles that line up with the strings.

I got on the computer and designed this pickup flatwork to be laser cut. As you can see it’s simply a 4 pole Strat pickup.

flatwork design for Musicmaster Bass by MrGlyns Pickups

The only difference is those pole pieces.

And here is the spacing of the poles on the Mr Glyn’s Pickup. You can see how the magnets line up with the strings.

String and pole alignment for MrGlyns Pickups Musicmaster Bass pickup

I’m happy with that.

Winding the Musicmaster Bass Pickup

So how was I going to wind this pickup?

There’s nothing wrong with the windings of a ‘70’s Strat pickup. With the reduced string tension of a 30inch scale bass there is a tendency for it to get boomy, so having a pickup with less inherent bottom end can help with clarity. It really isn’t a bad sound. My personal preference for these instruments is to have the Strat pickup specifications but with, of course, the correct string spacing.

But there is scope for having different winding options.

If you want more fatness in your tone I also offer this pickup with my ‘51 Telecaster Bass wind. This gives a bit more power but also more bass. This option still has the same Strat footprint and fits inside the same cover.

So if you want a fatter tone for your Musicmaster then this is your best option. Here’s a demo of that pickup.

Both winding options have the same footprint and the same alnico V magnets, it’s just the amount of windings that’s the difference.

This pickup is available with 3 cover options: black, white or cream.

Musicmaster Bass pickup covers by MrGlyns Pickups

Buy Musicmaster Bass

Updated May 2025

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d

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Posted on June 26, 2023November 17, 2025 by mrglynspickups — Leave a comment

Draig doom pickup set

Draig doom pickup set NZ$399 for NZ customers, if you’re overseas they’re GST free; NZ$346.96

Draig doom single humbucker size P90 neck NZ$199 for NZ customers, if you’re overseas it’s GST free; NZ$173.04

Draig doom single humbucker bridge NZ$219 for NZ customers, if you’re overseas it’s GST free; NZ$190.43

Bridge covers are $20 for NZ customers, if you’re overseas they’re GST free; NZ$17.39

buy Draig set

buy Draig single

Draig doom set specifications: Alnico VI – Bridge 9.38 KOhms, 7.42H, Ceramic 8 – Neck 7.26 KOhms

The Draig doom guitar pickup set is designed for all the genres encompassed by Doom Metal. It has strong mids, smooth treble and a bass response immediate enough to cope with low tunings. This is different from the harsh, dry percussive bass needed for extreme metal. There’s a warmth and clarity. It really is all in the bass and mids.

Draig doom pickup set in chrome and open chrome covers

The Draig is inspired by the sound of Tony Iommi and that heavy riffing guitar tone, mid forward.

Iommi’s tone has been in my head since I was a teenager, its a huge part of my guitar taste. I’m delighted to make this pickup available.

As you will hear from listening to the following demos, it’s more than just the Iommi sound. Players have taken this pickup and created their own sounds and feel. That was just the starting point, there’s no telling where it will go.

Power and Tone

But there’s another factor with this pickup. You’ll notice the Ohms for the bridge are in the 9K range, lower that you might expect. But this is still a powerful humbucker. This is all about increasing the dynamics and reducing compression. When using heavy fuzz, it’s really useful to be able to back off using just playing technique; the Draig is designed to do just that. It’s designed to work along with your fuzz no matter how extreme. Whether you’re using just a light fuzz or overdrive or an extreme Big Muff tone the Draig maintains clarity.

The coils are tuned to give the Draig its tonal characteristics with the magnet providing the engine.

Draig Doom Humbucker by Mr Glyn's Pickups with "dragon breath" cover — Draig in ‘Dragon Breath’

Pickups designed to derive most of their power from the strength of the coil, rather than the magnet, sound smooth, even and compressed like my Attitude humbucker. The Draig bridge gets a lot of power from its oversized alnico 6 magnet. This makes the Draig touch sensitive, dynamic and punchy.

Draig doom humbucker in chrome — Chrome cover Draig

So why alnico 6 in the Draig doom bridge humbucker?

Alnico 6 has similar properties to the more familiar alnico 5 but with more mids – it’s all about the mids. As you’d imagine, it has a little more power too.

Draig Doom Bridge Humbucker

Draig bridge humbucker

Draig doom bridge humbucker design

It wasn’t an easy pickup to design. It was designed for low tuning but with more of a Doom vibe in mind. I’ve made pickups before for extreme metal and it a very different approach to the bottom end. With extreme metal the bottom needs to be much drier and more immediate and percussive. With the bass on this one I’ve tried to walk the line between over hard and dry on one side and soggy and undefined on the other. I like to think I have found a path in between giving power with clarity.

The choice of magnet was a big part of this. A bigger magnet has a more immediate response than the conventional size and I experimented with a few different types of alnico. I finally settled on alnico 6. This oversized alnico 6 magnet gives all the punch and immediacy I wanted but with slightly stronger mids than alnico 5. Being an unusual size and material, I get these magnets manufactured specifically for this bridge pickup.

Like with many pickups to focus on the winding alone is telling only a small part of the story. The winding is 9.38K Ohms which might seem small but it’s all about balancing the mids. That oversized alnico 6 magnet is where the power comes from. The blade pole pushes more of that magnetic energy to the side of the pickup furthest away from the bridge, lessening the ‘pingy’ high end. It’s all about balancing the tone and emphasising the mids. The blade side of the bridge pickup is more efficient, mounting this side furtherst from the bridge helps with that mid forward tone.

You can see from this picture of the magnetic field how much more intense it it around the blade.

I made a short video explaining the thought behind the Draig pickup and how it works:

Draig

Test, tweak and test – Draig doom guitar set

I rigorously test all my pickups in various situations, different amps, pedals and always next to a drummer. Every pickup in my range has been gigged. You don’t really know a pickup until it’s been with a loud band.

For the Draig I asked Timmy Smalls in Australia for his opinion on the Draig bridge humbucker. He has a great Instagram channel and makes fantastic demo videos. Always good to have a second opinion you can trust.

There are always changes along the way; this video is from when the Draig had an alnico 5 magnet.

Draig neck – humbucker size P90

With the success of the Draig bridge pickup I was asked by a few players about a matching neck pickup to complete the Draig doom set.

It was an interesting challenge. I wanted the neck to have a similar ‘mids forward’ character to the bridge pickup. It needed a smooth lead tone but a lot of clarity when playing chords. It needed to hit a fuzz pedal with just the right amount of power so as not to make the sound into an undefined mush. And it needed to be a good match for the bridge pickup.

I wanted to re-think the neck pickup sound. So many PAF based neck humbuckers have a warm thick sound. This can work well with fuzz but not so much in this genre of music. I needed clarity. I wanted to make the neck pickup as useful as the bridge. My intention was to give players a tool to make use of the neck pickup sound.

I decided upon a humbucker size P90.

P90’s have a very different magnetic field to humbuckers with woody mids and less of a lower midrange push. It’s those lower mids that can create a mush.

As you can see the magnetic field is strongest in the middle of the pickup. With this smaller magnetic window the neck pickup has a less complex harmonic content and therefor more clarity.

A smaller magnetic window translates to a pickup with more character, often lacking in neck humbuckers.

After a lot of experimenting I landed on a combination of winds and magnet that did what I want.

I used a pair of undersized ceramic magnets that I have specially made for me. Ceramic has a drier tone than alnico which helps with the clarity and I designed the coil windings to compensate for the ceramic’s reduced mid range.

After some tweaking and, as ever, playing the pickup set alongside a drummer and bass player I was happy.

The Draig neck pickup has a different look to the bridge but I think they compliment each other well.

Do not underestimate this neck pickup. A lot of players have told me they avoided the neck pickup until they tried this one.

If you are an Instagram user you can find a whole plethora of Draig guitar pickup demos on this page. Babylon Sun is an endorser of Mr Glyn’s Pickups and has become a good friend to Mr Glyn’s Pickups. I encourage you to follow him on Instagram.

Draig doom pickup set – 6 string bass

Here is an interesting video from Tasmaniak Guitars. He designs guitars for 3d printing. This is a 30″ scale 6 string bass tuned EADGBE so like a conventional guitar an octave lower.

In this short demo he compares the clean and dirty tones of the Draig bridge pickup. This rather cool guitar is called the Meteora. You can get in touch with him and buy the files to print out your own version of this guitar. He has quite a few guitars in his range – worth checking out.

The name – “Draig”

So why call it ‘Draig’? Well, the word Draig means dragon in Welsh and although I’ve lived in New Zealand since 2005 I was born and grew up in Wales. The idea for the name came from my 9 year old daughter.

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Attitude 6 string contemporary humbucker, by MrGlyns Pickups

Black Sand, humbucker size P90, by MrGlyns Pickups

updated 26 June 2023

Draig doom humbucker

Posted on April 19, 2023November 17, 2025 by mrglynspickups — 1 Comment

The Duchess Tele set

Single The Duchess Tele – NZ$139 for NZ customers. If you’re overseas it’s GST free; $NZ120.87

Pair The Duchess Tele – NZ$269 for NZ customers. If you’re overseas they’re GST free; $NZ233.91

Alnico 5; Bridge 7.28KOhms, Neck 7.1KOhms

buy The Duchess set

buy The Duchess single

The Duchess Tele set is for the Telecaster player in need of that distinctive smooth Tele twang but with none of the ice pick cut. The neck pickup is warm and balanced with a full clarity and string separation. This a medium powered set that sits nicely in my range between the Silver Lady and Cruel Mistress.

The Duchess Telecaster set by MrGlyns Pickups — The Duchess Tele Set

The Duchess Tele pickup set will do just about everything from ‘vintage’ Tele twang to a platform for pedals.

The Duchess’ beginnings

The idea for this pickup started in 2021. I had some work at Roundhead recording studios in Auckland looking after the guitars of an American recording artist. During the process, the producer and engineer (working from the US) decided to send over their favorite ‘magic’ telecaster because they wanted that sound on the record.

The guitar arrived and it was an original ’61 Fender Esquire Custom, sunburst, double bound and just beautiful.

Although it was an Esquire it had a neck pickup that they told me had been added later. After taking the pick guard off it looked more like the neck pickup had been fitted in the factory so maybe it was a custom order. There are often strange anomalies with vintage guitars. We’re so used to models being standardized these days but it wasn’t always this way.

My job was to check over this guitar and set it up for the recording.

The Duchess telecaster - MrGlyns Pickups

I plugged it in and loved the sound immediately, now I understood why they’d shipped it over from the US for this session. So, I got my test meters out to analyze every aspect of the pickup. It was rather unusual for a Fender pickup of that time so maybe it had been re-wound at some stage. That didn’t matter, it sounded great, so I set out to make a Telecaster set in that style but with my own spin.

I made quite a few prototypes and did all the usual testing but didn’t quite get around to releasing the pickup. It often works that way, the last part, the part where I actually put the pickup on the website can take quite a while.

The Duchess Tele is finally born

Then in 2022 I had the idea for my Pandora 3-way pickup. I used the design for The Duchess bridge pickup as the middle position for the Pandora. I knew all along the Pandora was never going to be for everyone but was pleasantly surprised when the idea caught on.

An order for a Pandora came in from an old friend of mine in the UK. He’s called Darren Driver and he’s in a well-established Springsteen tribute band – The Boss and the Beeston Street Band

Darren had been a customer of mine when I had a guitar shop in Leeds in the late 90’s. He was a Telecaster player back then and it seems he still is. It’s always good to re-connect with people.

A couple of months later Darren got in touch saying how the mid position of the Pandora was his ideal Telecaster sound. Well, that was all it took. I got into the workshop and made a matching neck pickup for the Duchess. That week’s band practice I tested the set next to the drummer and was still really happy with it. So, I sent a set off to Yorkshire. I needed to make sure it was exactly what he wanted.

Darren said he was happy to make a demo of the pickups once he had got them into him number one Telecaster. That’s him in the video above.

And so The Duchess Tele set was born.

The Duchess – Tele set is great with either 250KOhm or 500KOhm volume pots. It’s really up to you – 500K will give more high-end Tele twang while the 250K will sound warmer. It really is a great pickup set either way.

The choice of capacitor is up to you. The more traditional 0.047 will roll off more treble with a lower value (0.022 for example) will be more subtle. I often get asked to recommend capacitors but it is a personal choice, there’s no right or wrong here.

The Duchess Telecaster pickup set explained

I have made a couple of short videos to explain my thinking behind these two pickups:

Check out our YouTube

The Duchess has been a useful addition to the Mr Glyn’s pickup range. Click on the links below to hear the other Telecaster pickups we make.

buy The Duchess set

buy The Duchess single

updated 28 April 2025

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Silver Lady telecaster pickup set by MrGlyns Pickups

Cruel Mistress tele pickup set, by MrGlyns Pickups

updated 17 May 2023

The Duchess – Tele set

Posted on April 17, 2023November 17, 2025 by mrglynspickups — 1 Comment

Pandora 3 way Esquire

Pandora is NZ$165 for NZ customers, if you’re overseas it’s GST free; NZ$143.48

Pandora 3 way Esquire specifications: Alnico V – 10.07 KOhm 4.4H, 7.28KOhm 2.3H, 5.49KOhm 1.15H

Buy Pandora

The Pandora 3 way Esquire pickup took its inspiration from my desire to fix a problem.

Pandora 3way esquire pickup - MrGlyns Pickups

I’ve never been happy with the switching options given on the Fender Esquire so I came up with a plan.

Rather than switch in some capacitors or switch out parts of the circuit and create sounds you can make anyway using the tone control, I thought it would be better to have a tapped pickup so the player could generate usable, ‘real’ tones.

It’s simply a case of ‘tapping’ into the winding at different points to obtain different strength pickups from the one coil.

This essentially gives the player 3 different pickups in one.

So in the middle position it’s an Esquire pickup, one way it’s less than that (I’m calling it ‘Gold Foil’ though it isn’t). The other way it’s more – my Cruel Mistress pickup. This gives 3 distinct tones going from jangly rhythm to fat lead without losing the distinctive Esquire/Telecaster character.

It makes use of the normal 3 way switch to achieve this.

Then, of course, I realized that the main use for this wouldn’t be in Fender Esquires but in single pickup builds. The single pickup movement is getting bigger and this is the perfect tool to give those guitars extra versatility while still using a single Tele style bridge pickup.

So the experiments and trials began, there’s a lot to test with this sort of pickup. There were a lot of trials to get the 3 sounds to work well together, that’s different amps, pedals and most importantly with different drummers and bass players.

The ‘Cruel Mistress’ part was easy, it’s my best selling Telecaster pickup set. The middle position is based on a ’61 Esquire I once had the good fortune of getting to know. I was going for that clear, ringing bridge pickup tone we all know and love, a sound that stands out from a mix. I was so happy with how this pickup turned out that I have since made a Telecaster set from it – The Duchess. The third position I’m calling ‘Gold Foil’ but I could have equally called it ‘Lipstick’. It’s a tone in the character of that style of pickup though technically is neither.

I sat on the design for quite a while (about a year) thinking that although I really liked it the idea might be a bit complicated. I didn’t think people would want a pickup with all those switching options. I had done all the testing, was really happy with the sounds and feel but didn’t do anything about it.

Then on a whim I just posted on Instagram about it and received a huge response. It seemed players and builders liked the idea. So here it is, the Pandora 3 way Esquire.

Thanks to Reg Ayers for this demo : go and check out his YouTube channel – he makes some great pedals.

Pandora 3 way Esquire sounds great with a 500KOhm volume pot or to get the most out of it I recommend this wiring diagram:

Pandora 3 way Esquire suggested wiring diagram

Wiring diagram for Pandora 3 way esquire pickup, MrGlyns Pickups

The difference is that 1Meg volume pot (it’s usually 250KOhms) and those resistors. This enables each of the 3 pickup settings to ‘see’ the volume pot as a different value. It just emphasizes the good points of each setting, it’s subtle but it does make a difference.

Here is the wiring colour code for the Pandora tele pickup.

Wiring Colour code for Pandora pickup — Pandora Color code

Buy Pandora

Check out Mr Glyn’s YouTube channel https://www.youtube.com/@MrGlynsPickups/videos

Pandora 3 way Esquire

updated 28 April 2025

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TheTron filtertron style pickup set by MrGlyns pickups

Posted on April 3, 2023September 18, 2025 by mrglynspickups — Leave a comment

Kāhu hot Strat

Single Kāhu NZ$139 for NZ customers, if you’re overseas it’s GST free; NZ$120.87

Set Kāhu NZ$375 for NZ customers, if you’re overseas they’re GST free; NZ$326.09

Specifications: Flat Pole AlnicoV – Neck 7.KOhms, 1.75H, Middle 7.6KOhms, 1.75H, Bridge 11KOhms, 3.98H

buy Kāhu set

buy Kāhu single

Kāhu Description

The Kāhu hot Strat Pickups set is for blues/rock players in need of that bit more power. With cleaner neck and middle pickups and a hotter, grittier bridge pickup it’s a set that acts more like a HSS set than a conventional Strat.

Without loosing their distinctively Strat personality the Kāhu are definitely Strat sounding but with an ugly streak. This is a true single coil set so they retain all the dynamics and feel of traditional pickups but with a fatness and power to bring out something different in your Strat.

The heart of the Kāhu hot Strat Pickups set is the bridge pickup, it’s warm and punchy and sustaining with a much greater output than a traditional bridge pickup. The highs are smoother, mids honky and the bass full. They’re designed to push your amp into overdrive rather than for clean sounds.

Kahu contemporary strat pickup, MrGlyns Pickups

For the blues player the true single coil nature of these pickups gives the dynamics and feel you expect from a Strat but with the singing sustain from more powerful pickups.

Clean Demo

The bridge pickup is a true single coil but it could be used as an alternative to a HSS set. No need to route out the body and pickguard for a humbucker, this bridge pickup will give you the fat lead tone you need.

The middle and neck pickups were designed to match but with a cleaner vibe, again thinking of using this as almost a HSS set. With less high end and considerably more mids and lows than a traditional Strat set the Kāhu set is for a non-traditional Strat player.

Dirty Demo

With the volume control backed off a tad the Kāhu set cleans up creating huge versatility through a dirty amp.

250k or 500kOhm pots?

Although this set was designed around a 250k volume pot (my preference) they also work well (some might say better) with a 500kOhm volume pot letting through more high end. They work well with a treble bleed if you don’t want treble roll off when using the volume control. If you’re buying a set I’ll send you one.

If you are wanting ‘vintage’ low powered pickups then look at the Bellbird or Kokako sets.

An Explanation

Here is an explanation of this design in my own words:

The Kāhu hot Strat Story

The Kāhu story is the story of the struggles of many of my customers when I was repairing guitars. A lot of people have a hard time with Strat pickups in particular the bridge. Strats have comfort and balance, the controls are fantastic, the 5 way, the volume control in just the right place. It’s a guitar that has everything right but for many players, especially from a humbucker background, the ‘vintage’ voiced pickups just don’t do it.

But Strats can be modified in so many ways to make them your own.

The starting point for this set was my Cruel Mistress Telecaster set. It’s my most popular pickup set and really brings a Telecaster to life. It’s based around the early Fender Broadcaster pickup. I wanted to do similar for the Stratocaster but with it’s own uniquely Stratocaster voice.

The Kāhu was in the development stage for nearly 2 years. A lot of the prototypes were close but were not quite right in some aspect. I don’t know how many gigs I did with these until they were just right.

The Strat should have its own unique voice and that idea was a big part of the design of these pickups. I wanted to retain that Strat character but give it something different as well.

The bridge pickup is designed to be an all purpose crunch rhythm and lead pickup with the middle and neck acting as cleaner, more traditional Strat tones. Think HSS, that’s what I’m going for here.

Here are all my Strat pickup demos on YouTube.

All my Strat sets are named after New Zealand birds. The Kāhu is a large harrier, an opportunistic predator, I see them from my house every day, patrolling the fields and hedges for prey.

Strat pickup set, black covers. Mr Glyn's Pickups — Kahu Set

buy Kāhu set

buy Kāhu single

Updated September 2024

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updated September 2025

Posted on March 27, 2023September 18, 2025 by mrglynspickups — Leave a comment

Kōkako Strat Pickup

Single Kōkako Strat Pickup NZ$139 for NZ customers, if you’re overseas it’s GST free; NZ$120.87

Set Kōkako Strat Pickup NZ$375 for NZ customers, if you’re overseas they’re GST free; NZ$326.09

AlnicoV – Neck 6.15 KOhms, 2.79H, Middle 6.15 KOhms, 2.79H, Bridge 6.64 KOhms, 3.08H

Buy Kōkako set

Here’s the original Bellbird pickup

Buy Kōkako single

The Kōkako Strat Pickup is is strongly influenced by the Fender Stratocaster pickups of the 60’s but with a little more. It has a full yet clear bottom end , smooth highs and clear mids. It’s aimed at players who love the sounds of Frusciante and Hendrix. I class this as a vintage Stratocaster pickup but with a little more.

If you take an early 60’s Fender Strat pickup, add a little bottom end, take a wee bit of treble off the top and add a touch more power then you’ve got the Kokako. Sometimes a vintage pickup isn’t quite what you need, there are many situations where you need just that bit more.

The magnets are specially made alnico 5’s with my own stagger to suit modern string gauges and fretboad radiuses. Most Stratocaster pickups have a much flatter radius that the traditional 7.5 inch and my special stagger reflects that.

The Kōkako Strat Pickup Story

The Kokako set was spawned by a few things coming together in November ’22.

For a while I’ve been offering my Bellbird Stratocaster pickup set with various winding options – 5% under, 5% over or 10% over wound. The Bellbird is based on the Stratocaster pickups of the early ’60’s and it’s an equally good pickup with a slightly different wind count. I’ve been playing with a 10% over wound set in one of my own Strats and for me they have ‘that’ vintage Strat tone that’s perfect with a little dirt be it fuzz or overdrive.

I was sent a Strat pickup to re-wind and the customer told me his ideal sound was Hendrix pickups.

I’d just read an article saying how Seymour Duncan had wound some pickups for Hendrix and the spec of those pickups looked very similar to the 10% over wound Bellbirds.

That got me thinking.

The same day a customer contacted me wanting advice about my pickups and which one would be best for a John Frusciante sound.

Well, it’s the Bellbird +10% again.

I thought this was too good to let go.

I could have left the pickup as a version of the Bellbird but decided it needed its own life. Since its release in late 2022 it has become more popular that the Bellbird pickup.

The Design

Here is a short video in which I explain my thinking behind the Kokako pickup design. I talk about what the 10% extra windings do for the eq of the pickup, the unique magnet stagger for modern guitar strings and the difference in the bridge pickup. I hope you find it useful.

Kokako Strat Pickups explained

My Stratocaster pickups are named after native New Zealand birds like the Bellbird and the Tui; I chose the Kokako because its song reflects the tonal characteristics of the pickups. I wanted a bird that has a song fatter and fuller sounding than the Bellbird but not as aggressive as the Tui – so Kōkako Strat Pickup it is.

And YouTube demos of all my Strat pickups

I would love you to subscribe to our newsletter (below). A new one is published every 6 weeks or so and it includes news, new products and a giveaway.

Buy Kōkako set

Buy Kōkako single

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updated 22 Sept 2023

Kōkako Strat Pickup

Posted on December 21, 2022July 31, 2025 by mrglynspickups — Leave a comment

Customer Testimonials on Mr Glyn’s Pickups

In the last week I have received 2 emails with customer feedback with YouTube demos attached showing how Mr Glyn’s Pickups are working for them. Customer Feedback is always gratefully received.

If you like their YouTube channels don’t forget to Subscribe.

Reg in Christchurch NZ

Firstly, Reg in Christchurch NZ with a set of Cruel Mistress Telecaster pickups:

Customer Feedback from Tasmania

Then Antonio from Tasmania who has a Cloud Nine bridge pickup.

Here is the email he sent me along with the links to his YouTube:

Hi mate.

Just wanted to give you some feedback on the cloud nine i recently installed.

Firstly, thanks for the amazingly fast service.

Secondly the pickup sounds fantastic, especially alongside the dimarzio hs4s that were already installed on the guitar. I got the cloud nine to replace the paf pro which was only standard spacing but needed to be f spaced. I absolutely love the paf pro, but im so glad i went with the cloud nine.

Even in coil cut mode it sounds fantastic.

Anyways i wanted to send you a couple of links to videos i made with the finished guitar.

The cold chisel one i used the humbucker in full mode on the second solo.

As for the Europe cover, all the rhythm guitars were recorded in coil cut mode including the parts of the solo when i switch to the bridge. Because the hs pickups are such low output pups, the cloud nine in coil cut mode is a perfect output match.

Im definitely going to give more of your pickups a go.

Exceptionally well made mate.

Regards

Antonio

Here is my YouTube channel

Customer Feedback — Mr Glyn’s Pickups Logo – Roboguy

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Customer Feedback

Posted on December 5, 2022November 17, 2025 by mrglynspickups — 1 Comment

Tūmatauenga Alien Weaponry

Tūmatauenga Alien Weaponry is the Signature Pickup of Lewis De Jong

NZ$249. If you’re overseas it’s GST free; NZ$216.52

buy Tūmatauenga

Ceramic 8 – Bridge 13.6 KOhms, 9.65H

The Tūmatauenga bridge pickup is the signature pickup of Lewis De Jong from the band Alien Weaponry.

This is no ordinary pickup, it’s specifically designed around Lewis’ requirements on stage and in the studio.

This pickup is aggressive and immediate, the bass is tight and punchy, mids powerful and clear with clear highs. It has power but also clarity to bring out the complex chords in Lewis’ playing.

Mr Glyn's Pickups Lewis de Jong of Alien Weaponry signature pickup

These samples of the Tūmatauenga Alien Weaponry pickup were recorded by Lewis using: a DBZ Bolero guitar, D’addario 11-56 Nickel Wounds tuned to drop C#, Marshall JCM 2000 DSL 50 heads x2, Marshall MF280 4×12 with V30s x2, Shure Wireless/tuner, Ibanez Weeping Demon, Line 6 M5, Boss HM6, Radial ABY box (all off/bypassed for this demo), mics used – Sennheiser ES906, Audio i5

Tumatauenga - Alien Weaponry signature pickup. Mr Glyn's guitar pickups — Photo:Taylor Baron

The Story of the Tūmatauenga Alien Weaponry Pickup

I was contacted by Alien Weaponry in December 2021 on their way back from a US tour. They were wondering if it was possible to have a NZ pickup made for Lewis. I jumped at the chance.

I’d been working on a pickup for extreme metal for some time and thought this might be me chance to use it. I loaded a test guitar with this pickup and headed to Waipu to meet Lewis. The band are based about 2 1/2 hours from my home so it was a great opportunity to do everything in person and ,of course, meet one of New Zealand’s best bands..

We plugged my test guitar into Lewis’ Marshall at their rehearsal room and it was obvious from their reaction that this wasn’t the sound they wanted. Okay, so it was going to take some work.

I had a listen to the pickups he was using and we had a long chat about what he wanted. I took one of their pickups out of his No.2 guitar to take back to the workshop to analyze.

Back at the workshop I measured all the parameters of the pickup and made a plan. I didn’t want to clone his existing sound but I couldn’t go too far away from it. I wanted to increase the punch of the bass and add a little clarity to the mids. One thing that was important was that it still sounded like their last album – you can’t go out on tour with a completely different sound.

I made a couple of prototypes and the following week headed back to Waipu.

I had one of the prototypes in my LTD test guitar and although it wasn’t exactly right is was close. From now on all the testing would be in Lewis’ own guitars. Once you’re close you need to minimize the parameters. And that’s how it went, swapping pickups and testing until Lewis was happy.

Finally we had the sound but that wasn’t all, it needed to look right.

The design on the pickup

Tūmatauenga - signature guitar pickup for Lewis De Jong from the band Alien Weaponry

The design on the pickup came from the band – here is what they say about it:

Mangopare (Hammerhead shark) is a kaitiaki (guardian) and tohu āriki (sacred chiefly symbol) of our family.

It is a traditional design motif that appears throughout Māoridom but is particularly treasured by my tribal group (Te Arawa) It stands for strength, courage and power.

Name of the pickup – Tūmatauenga (Māori god of war)

The name was decided to be Tūmatauenga (pronounced “2 ma toe enga”) the Māori god of war.

The Tūmatauenga Alien Weaponry pickups was born.

Tūmatauenga Alien Weaponry https://mrglynspickups.com/

buy Tūmatauenga

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Posted on November 30, 2022October 13, 2025 by mrglynspickups — Leave a comment

Jazz Bass

Single – Jazz Bass NZ$165 for NZ customers; if you’re overseas it’s GST free; NZ$143.48

Pair – Jazz Bass NZ$299 for NZ customers, if you’re overseas they’re GST free; NZ$260.00

Neck – 6.84 kOhms, Alnico V. Bridge – 7.45 kOhms, Alnico V

Buy Jazz Bass set

Buy Jazz Bass single

Jazz Bass pickup demo

Mr Glyn’s “Jazz Bass” pickups are inspired by the Fender Jazz pickups from the early 60’s. Low powered vintage tones suited to players looking for a clean, clear, springy tone. Positive, percussive bass response, woody mids and clear highs. Designed for players wanting a pure tone with either fingers or a pick.

All my Jazz pickup sets are RWRP so they are hum cancelling when both pickups are on.

I love Jazz basses, that off-set body looks so cool and the narrow neck makes it very easy to get around. Looks, play-ability and versatility make it hard to beat.

The J bass has such a classic tone. The sound of a Jazz with both pickups on can be heard on so many recordings, it’s so distinctive. It’s the sound of two coils connected in parallel, like a Strat in positions 2 or 4. It’s that clear, scooped tone. The pair of coils in a Precision Bass are wired in series which gives it a bigger, more powerful sound with a lot more lower mids but the clarity of a J Bass can really stand out.

Over the years I’ve re-wound a lot of old Fender pickups. I like to make notes to record what I find in these old pickups, wire gauge, insulation types, d.c. resistance, magnetic gauss, dimensions. My notebook is getting pretty full. This is my constant reference when I’m designing a new pickup, that and my ears.

I’ve based these pickups on the best of the old Fenders I’ve come across over the years. Not all vintage pickups are great but when you see enough of the good ones patterns begin to form.

I still repair pickups and still add to my old notebook, always learning 😎.

Check out my P Bass pickup here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hG99wNPSSgE&t=46s

Jazz Bass pickup set by MrGlyns Pickups — Mr Glyns Pickups

updated 5 May 2025

Buy Jazz Bass set

Buy Jazz Bass single

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Precision Bass pickup split pair by MrGlyns Pickups — ‘78 Musicman Stingray Bass pickup re-wind

1978 Musicman Stingray Bass re-wind by MrGlyns Pickups — ‘78 Musicman Stingray Bass pickup re-wind

update 8 May 2023

Posted on November 28, 2022November 17, 2025 by mrglynspickups — Leave a comment

Precision Bass Pickup

Single – “Precision Bass” NZ$199 for NZ customers, if you’re overseas it’s GST free; NZ$173.04

Alnico V – 10.9 kOhms

buy Precision Bass

Precision Bass Pickup Demo

The P Bass split pair is based on the Fenders of the early/mid 60’s. Full and clear with that distinctive mid range that sits well in any mix. It is the essence of bass. It has the woody, full tones we all love. As a stand alone or used with my Jazz Bass bridge pickup as part of a PJ set.

Arguably the most important instrument of all of Leo Fender’s creations the P bass changed music more than any other instrument. From James Jameson to Steve Harris, the P Bass is surprisingly versatile and has such a distinctive tone.

As with the early pickups this split pair is built to be hum cancelling – the two coils are electrically out of phase but also magnetically out of phase. Here’s an explanation: How Humbuckers Work

With fingers, with a pick and especially with flat wounds.

My Precision Bass pickups are designed to be used with 250 K Ohm pots.

buy Precision Bass

updated 5 May 2025

For more P Bass fun: https://mrglynspickups.com/2021/04/06/bass-pickup-re-wind/

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Posted on October 21, 2022October 13, 2025 by mrglynspickups — 1 Comment

Cool 90

Single – Cool 90 P90 NZ$199 for NZ customers, if you’re overseas it’s GST free; NZ$173.04

Pair – Cool 90 P90 NZ$379 for NZ customers, if you’re overseas they’re GST free; NZ$329.57

Neck- 6.4 KOhms, 5.45H, Alnico II. Bridge 7.25 KOhms, 6.42H, Alnico II

Buy Cool 90 set

Buy Cool 90 single

The Cool 90 is a P90 pickup available in both Dogear and Soapbar. Designed with Jazz and Blues players in mind it produces a clear, full, well balanced tone. Never harsh, always full and musical.

The bridge pickup has an organic sound with a lower mid push ideally suited to dynamic lead lines and tight rhythm playing.

The neck pickup is clear and chiming with enough clarity to always be heard in the mix. It has that lovely woody tone especially in an archtop.

Cool 90 P90 pickup by MrGlyns Pickups, New Zealand

For ‘full fat’ P90 tones have a look at our “Sassy” P90 pickup set.

Demos

Thanks to Brett Kingman over in Melbourne for this great demo.

Brett has played a few of my pickups and in May ’25 got in touch looking for a dogear P90 for his Tokai Les Paul Junior.

Here is what he said about it:

“I love my little Tokai Junior. It was relic’d by my friends Joel and Colin at Nepean Music and they fitted a Dimarzio Phantom in it.

That’s not a bad pickup but I really wanted a lower output affair – more of what a traditional P90 offers.

I had this conversation with another friend, Glyn Evans of Mr Glyn’s Pickups, who are located in the smaller paddock across the creek (New Zealand) and he said I should give his Cool 90 a shot. I did and I’m really impressed!

He even shipped it with a selection of 3D-printed height spacers so I could nail the nominal pickup height. Nice touch, Glyn! So, here it is – This one’s a keeper.”

Here’s a demo of the Cool 90 sent to me by one of my customers. Go check out his band – The Bull Kelp Surfers

Why Alnico II?

I use rough cast alnico II magnets in my Cool 90 set for its smooth, well balanced tone. My other P 90 pickups use the more conventional alnico V giving them greater attack and power but I didn’t want that with this pickup. Alnico II has a very balanced tonal range, the lows aren’t to boomy, mids are present but not too far forward and the highs are smooth. It is a magnet with less power than the alnico V so suited for less aggressive playing.

The Cool 90 Story

Like many of my pickups the this one started with a repair job. A customer sent be a faulty Gibson P90 out of a 1955 Les Paul Junior. Naturally, I took measurements and completely analyzed every detail of it. Unlike the information in the books (and internet) it had less windings and Alnico II magnets instead of Alnico V.

And what a great sounding pickup it was.

I decided to make my own version of it to compliment the ‘Sassy” P90 pickup I was already making. The Sassy has the classic “full fat” P90 tone, plenty of growl and cut through.

The idea was to make a lower powered version for the cleaner player. Still keeping the classic P90 character but with less grunt.

I experimented and tested and eventually came up with this design.

Cool 90 P90 soapbar Alnico 2 by MrGlyns Pickups

updated 13 October 2025

Buy Cool 90 set

Buy Cool 90 single

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Sassy traditional P90 pickup by Mr Glyns Pickups — Les Paul Jr P90 from 1955

Les Paul Jnr P90 1955 repair — Les Paul Jr P90 from 1955

I also make a humbucker size P90 set – the “Black Sand” if you need some P90 goodness in your humbucker guitar, here’s a link to them: https://mrglynspickups.com/2020/03/29/black-sand-humbucker-sized-p90-neck/

For a full range of demo videos of Mr Glyn’s pickups go to my YouTube channel https://www.youtube.com/c/MrGlynsPickups/featured

Posted on October 14, 2022November 17, 2025 by mrglynspickups — Leave a comment

Telecaster Bass

Single – Telecaster Bass NZ$165 for NZ customers, if you’re overseas it’s GST free; NZ$143.48

Alnico V – 6.8 kOhms

buy Telecaster Bass

Telecaster Bass demo

There is something so unbelievably cool about the Fender Telecaster Bass. The classic lines, that headstock, the pickguard, the association with great players and, of course, the tone. What ever it is we all love about this great instrument here’s a pickup to do it justice.

Whether you play with fingers or a pick this classic pickup will deliver. More present in the mix than the Precision split pair but with that distinctive punch and clarity.

This is the straight version of the P Bass pickup, often called the ’51 Bass Pickup so as not to confuse it with the split pair P bass pickup.

I’ve based these pickups on the best of the old Fenders I’ve come across over the years. Not all vintage pickups are great but when you see enough of the good ones patterns begin to form.

I still repair pickups and still add to my old notebook, always learning 😎.

updated 5 May 2025

buy Telecaster Bass

Telecaster bass, '51 bass pickup by Mr Glyn's Pickups

You can find all our demos here.

Head to store…

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Stingray Bass Pickup repair by MrGlyns Pickups — Stingray Bass Pickup repair

updated 3 April 2023

Posted on August 23, 2022December 22, 2023 by mrglynspickups — Leave a comment

Larry and the Trons

Larry and the Trons is a short video by Brett Kingman to demonstrate Mr Glyn’s Pickups TheTron pickup set in a Telecaster Cabronita.

I sent him a set of TheTron pickups to make a demo and this is the 4th video he’s made – he must like them.

I designed TheTron pickup set with Gretsch guitars in mind and in particular the lightly overdriven sound of early Malcolm Young. It’s great when a player takes your design and makes you re-think it.

Since Brett fitted his set into a Telecaster Cabronita I’ve changed the spec of these pickups and now offer them in 52mm and 49.2mm spacing to match Fender style bridges. I do try and listen to players whenever I can.

Larry and the Trons

TheTron is the perfect pickup as a Gretsch upgrade, for the modern player wanting something other than Gibson style humbuckers, rockabilly players after that traditional tone, jazz players or, like me, Malcolm Young fans. There’s so much you can to with The Tron.

For the modern player with one foot in the past.

Here’s TheTron’s home page for more info and demos https://mrglynspickups.com/2021/09/22/thetron/

Mr Glyns TheTron pickup set. Larry and the Trons

Larry and the Trons https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ga0qYdh565s

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TheTron filtertron Mr Glyns pickups — TheTron – filtertron style

Gretsch Filtertron repair - Mr Glyns Pickups — TheTron – filtertron style

Posted on June 20, 2022December 22, 2023 by mrglynspickups — Leave a comment

Epiphone Les Paul pickup upgrade

Integrity humbuckers. PAF Alnico 2 vintage voiced pickups

The biggest difference you can make to an Epiphone Les Paul is a pickup upgrade. In this video Ben Neal does just that.

Take a look at his YouTube channel for more great videos – https://www.youtube.com/c/BenNeal

There are many ways to upgrade a guitar, changing the pickups is the most significant.

Epiphone pickup upgrade

He goes through every aspect of what these guitars are capable of. I think he proves that these can be great guitars with just a few extra tweaks.

If you need help choosing just get in touch. Just go to this page and answer two simple questions and Ill get back to you with a recomended pickup.

pickup upgrade

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Posted on June 14, 2022December 22, 2023 by mrglynspickups — Leave a comment

Tele Cabronita – ‘TheTron’

Was great to see this Brett Kingman demo using a Tele Cabronita with Mr Glyns The Tron pickups to demonstrate some really cool pedals the other day. He’s got dozens of guitars to choose from, so chuffed he chose my pickups.

Tele Cabronita with TheTron Pickups

There are more demos here: https://mrglynspickups.com/2021/09/22/thetron/

For the modern player with one foot in the past.

Tele Cabronita https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLOdXLT6XwMyl5p3dysXkznyAp5gt_Z5HN

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Posted on February 16, 2022July 8, 2024 by mrglynspickups — Leave a comment

Integrity humbucker in a HSS Strat

Had some fun today making a short stop-motion movie of Roboguy to demonstrate an Integrity humbucker in a HSS Strat.

The ‘real’ guitar is being played by Warren Mendonsa aka Blackstratblues.

HSS Strat

Of course, any of my humbuckers will work as part of a HSS Strat set but I think the Integrity matches single coil pickups best.

For more demos of this pickup have a look here: https://mrglynspickups.com/2020/03/29/integrity-vintage-humbucker-2/

Inspired by the early Gibson PAF pickups the Integrity-vintage humbucker give the classic full, balanced tone we all love. Asymmetric coils give an open sounding mid range and the Alnico II magnet gives clarity and balance. A rich bottom end, characterful mids and sweet treble make this a pickup set for every situation – Jazz, Blues, Rock, it does it all.

The full and honest sound of the Integrity-vintage humbucker along with it’s timeless tone inspired the name “Integrity”. https://mrglynspickups.com/

Integrity humbucker in a HSS Strat

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Contemporary humbucker for the modern player

Posted on November 27, 2021October 13, 2025 by mrglynspickups — Leave a comment

Jazzmaster vintage

Single Jazzmaster vintage NZ$165 for NZ customers, if you’re overseas it’s GST free; NZ$143.48

Pair Jazzmaster vintage NZ$299 for NZ customers, if you’re overseas they’re GST free; NZ$260.00

Alnico V – Bridge 8.96 KOhms, 6.12H. Neck 7.92 KOhms, 5H

buy Jazzmaster set

Browse store

buy Jazzmaster single

Mr Glyns Pickups Jazzmaster vintage pickup set is intended for the clean player needing a low powered Jazzmaster set with full tone, warmth and clarity.

These pickups have smooth a jangly treble , always present, never harsh and distinctively Jazzmaster. The bass is clean, clear, woody and full of character and with the warmth of the original Jazzmaster pickups. The mid range is smooth and well balanced. Alnico II magnets give these pickups a clear, very musical quality.

Wound RWRP they hum cancel when both pickups are on.

Their clarity makes these pickups suitable for many musical styles and lend themselves well to pedals with the personality of the pickups shining through. Drenched in reverb and delay, grinding fat fuzz tones or even clean Jazz.

Jazzmaster vintage pickup design

This pickup set was designed around the standard 1MegOhm pots though work equally well with 500KOhm or 250KOhm. It’s really up to you which tone you prefer.

I’ve always had a fondness for offset guitars and Jazzmasters in particular. Is it the look? The smooth, clear treble? The versatile electronics? Probably all of those things. Jazzmasters are not like anything else, you either get it or you don’t.

I hope you enjoy these pickups, I’ve thoroughly enjoyed designing, and especially testing them. This time the rigorous testing that I put all my pickups through re-kindled my love of Jazzmasters. The sound of a pickup and the way it reacts to pedals and your amp change the way you play. I really like the direction these pickups have steered me in. I wish it was possible to demo the feel of a pickup not just the sound because the feel is a huge part of it.

Sound Samples

The sound samples are a CIJ Jazzmaster into a NZ made old Jansen amp – ECC83, 6L6. With a Celestion Hot 100 12″ and using an SM57.

Each riff goes from neck pickup to middle to bridge using the treble circuit. The 4th riff compares the neck pickup on the treble circuit to the neck on the rhythm circuit, then the middle, then bridge.

Jazzmaster vintage voiced pickups by MrGlyn’s Pickups NZ

buy Jazzmaster set

Browse store

buy Jazzmaster single

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https://www.youtube.com/c/MrGlynsPickups/videos Jazzmaster vintage https://mrglynspickups.com/

Posted on November 6, 2021June 28, 2024 by mrglynspickups — Leave a comment

P90 skateboard lap steel

Been having some fun making a pickup demo using a P90 skateboard lap steel.

It’s a fun instrument and pretty easy to make. Skateboards are surprisingly resonant.

P90 skateboard lap steel

The Mr Glyn’s “Sassy” P90 is a pickup set influenced by the Gibson P90’s of the late 50’s. The “Sassy” have a distinctive woody aggressive tone, full of character. The highs are smooth yet punchy, there’s a chiming bottom end and a very obvious mid range that pushes through the mix. If you tickle the strings they’re clean and clear but dig in and there’s no shortage of power to drive the front end of your amp.

I’ve grown to love P90’s over the years, it’s the sound of those early Gibson Les Paul Juniors. It’s a pickup that needs no extras, just straight into a good amp. They’re happy to power pedals but there’s a fullness and balance that seems to need nothing else.

I wanted the “Sassy” P90 set to live up to its name and have the dynamic range that I love about P90’s. The wide flat coil of a P90 gives a richer, less percussive tone than other single coil pickups and this is where the full tone comes from. I’ve sat both neck and bridge pickups on top of a pair of Alnico V magnets to give the power this pickup needs and help add that bit of grit when played hard.

I’ve made the neck pickup smooth and fat but with clarity and chime enough for jazz. The bridge pickup has the dynamics, pushy mids and aggressive highs when pushed but cleans up when you ask it to.

This is a pickup set that would be happy in almost any situation, blues, rock, punk, reggae… If it’s a full bodied, dynamic P90 you’re after look no further.

The Sassy is available in Dogear and Soapbar. https://mrglynspickups.com/mr-glyns-pickup-store/sassy-p90-set/

I’ve named this set the “Sassy” P90 set to reflect these pickup’s attitude, they’re bold, spicy, disrespectful and a bit cheeky. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iJtZkIbaCZU

P90 skateboard lap steel

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LP Jr from 1955 — Sassy – Traditional P90

Posted on November 2, 2021December 22, 2023 by mrglynspickups — Leave a comment

Clear View humbucker set

Take a Squire Affinity, give it to luthier Ramsay Phillips, add some Mr Glyn’s pickups Clear View humbucker set and see what you get? Superb demo from Jason Herbert – all 3 of him.

The Clear View humbucker set is something different. It’s a humbucker for players that don’t like humbuckers.

This pickup set is all about pure clarity. There are no pushy lower mids that make your clean sound a mush. The highs are clean and clear but not harsh, the bottom end is clear but with none of that humbucker woof.

If single coils are too harsh and unforgiving, conventional humbuckers too powerful and muddy then here’s the solution. The “Clear View” humbucker is low powered and balanced, designed for the textural player, great with reverbs and modulation, sits its the mix without getting in the way.

This is not a pickup born to rock, it’s more than that. https://mrglynspickups.com/2021/08/20/clear-view-humbucker/

Clear View humbucker set.

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Posted on September 22, 2021October 13, 2025 by mrglynspickups — Leave a comment

The Tron

Single The Tron – NZ$249. If you’re overseas it’s GST free; NZ$216.52

Pair The Tron – NZ$479. If you’re overseas they’re GST free; NZ$416.52

Mounting adapter plates are $10 each ($20 with a set) , if you’re overseas they’re GST free; NZ$8.70 ($17.39 for a set)

Alnico V – Bridge 5.32 KOhms, 1.96H .Neck – 4.36KOhms, 0.88H

Buy TheTron set

Buy P90 size – TheTron set

Buy TheTron single

Buy P90 size – TheTron single

The Tron pickup set is based around the legendary Gretsch Filtertron pickups of the 50’s and 60’s. To say To say it has character is an understatement. It is full and rounded with a well balanced mid range. It has that distinctive ‘Clank’ that separates it from other pickups. The neck pickup is clear and fat and the bridge stands out from the mix without ever sounding harsh.

This is a unique style of pickup and quite distinct from its Gibson cousin the PAF.

Available in standard size with traditional ‘through cover’ mounting. 2 or 3 screw humbucker style mounting. P90 size.

The Tron demos

Here’s the full demo from Brett:

Who is it for?

The Tron is the perfect Filtertron pickup as a Gretsch upgrade. For the modern player wanting something other than Gibson style humbuckers For the rockabilly player after that traditional tone. For the jazz player or, like me, Malcolm Young fans. There’s so much you can to with The Tron.

Tele caster Cabronits with Mr Glyns Pickup — Cabronita

As you can see from the demos it’s not just Gretsch guitars, the Tron are great in Telecaster Cabronitas. or any guitar for that matter.

For the modern player with one foot in the past.

Stratocaster with Mr Glyns Pickups — Strat Tron

P90 size Tron

The Tron is now available in P90 size. This is the same pickup, same bobbins, same magnet. So if you need some Tron goodness in your P90 guitar this is the set for you.

P90 size Filtertron guitar pickup. — P90 Size Tron

As the Tron pickup fits inside a P90 cover there are no compromises. This is the true Tron tone for your P90 guitar.

The P90 version has its own base plate. These are designed and made in house. This has an extra earthed shielding layer for that bit extra noise reduction.

P90 size filtertron base plate. — Base Plate

The mounting screws are located at each end of the pickup. They come with screws and springs.

They are available in 49.2mm or 52mm spacing and with either cream or black covers.

There is a a link to the shop at the top of this page.

Development

Over the years I’ve repaired a fair few old Gretsch Filter-tron pickups. I have noticed the best sounding ones are at the upper range for ohms. I’ve taken that design and tweaked it until I got the fullness I was looking. But paying attention not to loose the essential clarity and clank.

Most of my pickups are made in collaboration with a professional player, but not this one.

I started playing guitar at the age of 16 when I first heard Malcolm Young. That’s the sound of a Filtertron through an almost clean valve amp. I didn’t feel I needed another set of ears for this one, I knew exactly what I wanted.

I needed this pickup set to be crystal clear with a clean amplifier but to come into its own when pushing an amp to clip.

I think that’s what it’s all about with this design – how it makes an amp clip.

The neck pickup needed to be clear, full and chiming in both a big archtop and in the neck position of a Telecaster. The bridge pickup needed to have no shortage of character, a clean almost jangly tone when played gently but with enough go in it to push the front end of a valve amp to clip when you dig in.

The design of The Tron Filtertron pickup

Here are my thoughts on the design of this pickup set. In this video I talk about the differences between Filtertron pickups and Gibson PAF’s.

In summary, the filtertron has a big magnet with low dc resistance. The PAF had a smaller magnet and higher dc resistance. Filtertrons get most of their power from their large magnet giving them a distinctive ‘clank’. They have an immediate feel under your fingers. An instant attack.

The magnet is very important. I get mine specially made for me to my spec. I am very fussy about my magnets.

In comparison, a PAF is smoother and less percussive sounding.

Mounting options

I’ve made this one to fit what you play.

TheTron pickup comes with the standard mounting screws for the ‘soapbar’ style mounting known as the ‘universal mounting’.

If your pickup is mounted on a humbucker style ring, you can fit it using one of my adapter plates.

I’ve developed two adapter plate options: 2-screw to mount to Gibson-style humbucker rings,

or 3-screw to mount to the ring found on some Gretsch guitars.

Adapter plates are $10 each ($20 with a set). Ypou can find the options to order tham at the checkout.

TheTron by Mr Glyns Pickups. Filtertron guitar pickup, blue.

TheTron gold foil mr glyns pickups. Filtertron pickup

TheTron blue top Mr Glyns pickups. Filtertron guitar pickup

And as for the name “TheTron”? – I think you have to be a Kiwi…

Dimensions

The Tron Filter-tron pickup is a slightly different size to its ‘Gibson’ style humbucker cousins.

It is 71.5mm x 35mm where as a Gibson shape humbucker is 70mm x 38mm. It is possible to get adapter mounting rings to fit a Filter-tron type pickup in a Gibson type humbucker loaded guitar. I don’t sell these.

The P90 Tron is standard P90 size so 35mm x 85.5mm.

The Tron is available with a 52mm pole spacing to fit with Fender style bridge spacing.

Feel free to get in touch with any questions.

Buy TheTron set

Buy P90 size – TheTron set

Buy TheTron single

Buy P90 size – TheTron single

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mini humbucker set Mr Glyns pickups — Gretsch Filtertron 1961

Mr Glyns Pickups

For the full range of pickups https://mrglynspickups.com/

Take a listen to all the demos https://www.youtube.com/c/MrGlynsPickups/videos

Posted on June 19, 2021October 17, 2025 by mrglynspickups — Leave a comment

Sassy P90

Single – Sassy P90 NZ$199 for NZ customers, if you’re overseas it’s GST free; NZ$173.04

Pair – Sassy P90 NZ$379 for NZ customers, if you’re overseas they’re GST free; NZ$329.57

Alnico V, Neck- 6.7 KOhms, 4.42H, Alnico V, Bridge 7.55 KOhms, 5.23H

Buy Sassy set

/https://mrglynspickups.com/2020/03/29/black-sand-humbucker-sized-p90-neck/

Buy Sassy single

The Sassy is a full fat P90 set designed for that traditional P90 tone. Suitable for styles from blues to rock. Full and dynamic, aggressive but controllable. It has a touch sensitivity that makes this set a lot of fun to play with.

Sassy Demo

Description

I’ve grown to love P90’s over the years, it’s the sound of those early Gibson Les Paul Juniors. It’s a guitar pickup that needs no extras, just straight into a good amp. They’re happy to power pedals but there’s a fullness and balance that seems to need nothing else.

I think the Sassy is best served through ’50’s wiring – it really gives you the dynamic, touch sensitive range that made this style of pickup famous.

Philosophy behind the Sassy

Here’s a short video explaining my thinking behind the Sassy P90 pickup set.

The Sassy P90 story

I wanted the Sassy P90 set to live up to its name and have the dynamic range that I love about P90’s. The wide flat coil of a P90 gives a richer, less percussive tone than other single coil pickups and this is where the full tone comes from. I mounted both neck and bridge pickups on top of a pair of Alnico V magnets. This gives the power this pickup needs and helps add that bit of grit when played hard.

I’ve made the neck pickup smooth and fat but with clarity and chime enough for jazz. The bridge pickup has the dynamic, pushy mids and aggressive highs when pushed. But it cleans up when you ask it to in true p90 style.

This is a pickup set that would be happy in almost any situation, blues, rock, punk, reggae… If it’s a full bodied, dynamic P90 you’re after look no further. I have extensively gigged with a Sassy P90 loaded guitar and loved the woody mids and high end clarity. Back the volume off a tad and there’s a single coil chime, crank it and you have full fat lead tones.

The Sassy for lap steel

The Sassy is available in Dogear p90 and Soapbar P90.

I’ve named this set the Sassy”P90 set to reflect these pickup’s attitude, they’re bold, spicy, disrespectful and a bit cheeky.

If you need shims to adjust the height of a Dogear P90 just let me know, I can send you a file for 3d printing.

I also make a humbucker size P90 set – the “Black Sand” if you need some P90 goodness in your humbucker guitar, here’s a link to them:

Sassy P90 dogear style in cream, by MrGlyns Pickups — Sassy dogear cream

Sassy P90 dogear style pickup in black, by MrGlyns Pickups — Sassy dogear black

Sassy P90 soapbar style in cream by MrGlyns Pickups — Sassy soapbar cream

Sassy P90 soapbar style in black, by MrGlyns Pickups — Sassy soapbar black

updated 17th October 2025

Buy Sassy set

Buy Sassy single

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Cool90 low powered P90 by MrGlyns Pickups — Les Paul Jr P90 from 1955

updated 8 May 2023

Posted on May 17, 2021October 13, 2025 by mrglynspickups — Leave a comment

“Attitude” 7 string humbucker – Mr Glyn’s Pickups

“Attitude” 7 string humbucker – NZ$240 (set NZ$449) for NZ customers; if you’re overseas it’s GST free NZ$208.70 (set NZ$390.43)

Cover NZ$20 ($17.39) extra each pickup

7 String – Alnico V – Neck 14.5 KOhms, Bridge 21.8 KOhms 14.65H

Buy Attitude 7 set

Buy Attitude 7 single

The Attitude 7 string humbucker is designed for the modern metal/fusion player. A 7 string humbucker set with clarity, articulation, dynamics with just the right compression. The low B has plenty of punch with none of the flub associated with 7 strings.

The Attitude 7 string humbucker story

In 2020 I was working on extending my range of humbucking pickups for rock players. The Cloud Nine will do just about anything but I wanted to offer a more specific pickup for modern rock/metal, a 7 string humbucker.

I wanted a tight bottom end, singing highs and a balanced midrange with that slight compression to smooth the dynamics.

I decided to start with a 7 string humbucker which is a slightly unorthodox way of going about it but I was concerned with getting the bottom end right. If there was any sogginess in the bottom end a 7 string would show it up more than a 6 string.

7 string humbucker pickups are not like others. The low bass string reacts so differently, there’s a lot of string deflection and low harmonics. My mission was to tame this bass and keep it tight but not to sacrifice the sound quality of the treble strings. The treble still needed to be sweet and singing. The mids needed to be balanced and noticeable. I didn’t want this pickup scooped; the mids had to stand out from the mix when needed to.

So in October 2019 I got back in touch with my old mate Graham Young in Yorkshire. He’s an amazing player and really knows his gear.

Back in 1998 I wound a 6 string humbucker for Graham. In those days I had a guitar shop and repair business in Leeds in the North of England and he wanted a bridge pickup to suit his style for a parts caster.

Years passed and he became a 7 string player, so when I decided to develop a 7 string pickup Graham was the person I asked to be test pilot. We’d very loosely kept in touch over the years and it turned out he was still using the 6 string pickup I’d made for him back in the 90’s.

We had a chat via messenger and it turned out he’d tried a lot of pickups but none quite did it for him. So I listened to his thoughts, came up with a design and went away and made a prototype.

The first one wasn’t quite right, so he sent it back and I changed a few things and returned it. I don’t know how many adjustments I made but that pickup accumulated quite a few air miles between NZ and the UK over the next few months.

Every time we got closer, every adjustment less than the one before. When you get that close you know you’ve got a good pickup. I was at the point when I felt we really had something great but I just needed that confirmation.

Then Covid 19 happened, the mail got too unreliable to send stuff overseas with any confidence of it arriving and the process was put on hold.

At the end of June 2020 I got a call from Gabe Dovaston in Papamoa. He’d done some demos for me with some of my other pickups and was asking if I did a 7 string, just in case, for an Ibanez of his. Well, this seemed like a chance to test my new pickup on fresh ears. I made a copy of the last one I’d sent Graham, the one I was happy with, and got it off in the post. I sat back and waited. It only took a few days and I got a very happy call, he loved it and he’d already made a demo that he’d put on YouTube.

Graham Young

Great news, but what was I going to call it? The pickup was already on YouTube, it wasn’t on my website yet and it didn’t even have a name!

I got on Facebook and asked people to come up with a name; there were so many excellent suggestions but nothing quite did it. In the end this pickup that had taken so much work to develop, traveled so far and refused to go away I called the “Attitude”. https://mrglynspickups.com/2020/07/29/attitude-humbucker/

The Attitude is available as a 6 or 7 string humbucker, for neck and bridge positions.

Attitude 7 string contemporary humbucker, MrGlyns Pickups

updated 5 May 2025

Buy Attitude 7 set

Buy Attitude 7 single

Mr Glyns YouTube

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Cloud Nine hot humbucker by MrGlyns Pickups

updated 3 April 2023

Posted on March 9, 2021June 27, 2024 by mrglynspickups — Leave a comment

Andy Marra ‘Bellbird’ Strat Pickup Demo

Thanks to Andy Marra for this “Bellbird” Strat Pickup Demo. It’s a privilege to have him using my pickups.

Strat Pickup Demo

I’ve based my Bellbird Vintage Strat set on the best of the old pickups I’ve had the pleasure of playing through. If I were to give you a year I’d say ’63 Strat. I use AWG42 heavy formvar insulated wire – there’s something about the thickness of that insulation that just works with an old Strat pickup.

The Bellbird set has been designed mainly for clean tones but they’re certainly not afraid to perform with a bit of gain. As part of a HSS set they’re great with one of my ‘Integrity’ humbuckers in the bridge position.

Thanks to Andy Marra for this “Bellbird” Strat Pickup Demo.

Check out the Mr Glyns Pickups Strat range

stratocaster range of pickups by MrGlyns — Strat Pickup

Posted on July 29, 2020October 13, 2025 by mrglynspickups — 1 Comment

Attitude Humbucker

6 string Attitude Humbucker NZ$219 (set NZ$399) for NZ customers; if you’re overseas it’s GST free NZ$190.43 (set NZ$346.96)

7 string Attitude Humbucker NZ$240 (set NZ$449) for NZ customers; if you’re overseas it’s GST free NZ$208.70 (set NZ$390.43)

Cover NZ$20 ($17.39) extra each pickup

6 String – Alnico V – Neck 13.5 KOhms, 7.38H, Bridge 18.6 KOhms, 12.63H

7 String – Alnico V – Neck 14.5 KOhms, Bridge 21.8 KOhms 14.65H

Buy Attitude 6 string set

Buy Attitude 6 string single

Buy Attitude 7 string set

Buy Attitude 7 string single

The Attitude Humbucker is a powerful, well balanced pickup set designed for modern metal or fusion players. Sensitive enough to hear the detail in your legato. A smooth present mid range to push you forward in the mix. Bass that stays tight whatever you throw at it. The Attitude makes a great 6 or 7 string pickup set.

I’m delighted to have Nail Vincent from the band Devilskin using the Attitude pickup both in the studio and live.

Nail Vincent from the band Devilskin using Mr Glyns Pickups — Nail Vincent – Devilskin

The story of the Attitude Humbucker

In 2019 I was working on extending my range of humbucker pickups for rock players. The Cloud Nine will do just about anything but I wanted to offer a more specific pickup for modern rock/metal.

I decided to start with a 7 string which is a slightly unorthodox way of going about it but I was concerned with getting the bottom end right. If there was any sogginess in the bottom end a 7 string would show it up more than a 6 string.

7 string pickups are not like others. The low bass string reacts so differently, there’s a lot of string deflection and low harmonics. My mission was to tame this bass and keep it tight but not to sacrifice the sound quality of the treble strings. The treble still needed to be sweet and singing. The mids needed to be balanced and noticeable. I didn’t want this pickup scooped; the mids had to stand out from the mix when needed to.

Attitude Humbucker development

So in October 2019 I got back in touch with my old mate Graham Young in Yorkshire. He’s an amazing player and really knows his gear.

We had a chat via messenger and it turned out he’d tried a lot of pickups but none quite did it for him. So I listened to his thoughts, came up with a design and went away and made a prototype.

Then Covid 19 happened, the mail got too unreliable to send stuff overseas with any confidence of it arriving and the process was put on hold.

Attitude Humbucker set is born

Great news, but what was I going to call it? The pickup was already on YouTube, it wasn’t on my website yet and it didn’t even have a name!

The Attitude Humbucker is available in 6 and 7 string, for neck and bridge positions.

There are a number of cover options for the 6 string so you can choose how your Attitude looks: uncovered options are black, double white, double cream, and zebra or reverse zebra (in either cream or white) at no additional charge. Or you can add a cover to your purchase in: black, gold, chrome, nickel, sliders, gatsby or open raw nickel.

The 7 string bridge pickup comes in one size (61.2mm). You can have your pickup in uncovered black, double white, double cream, and zebra or reverse zebra (in either cream or white) for no additional cost, or add a nickel or gold cover for $40 for the set.

Selection of humbucker cover options, MrGlyns Pickups

Slider humbucker cover style, by MrGlyns Pickups

Gatsby humbucker cover, by MrGlyns Pickups

example of humbucker cover aging by MrGlyns Pickups

Attitude 7 string humbucker by Mr Glyns Pickups — “Attitude” Humbucker 7 string

"Attitude" Humbucker Mr Glyns Pickups — White humbucker bobbins

Buy Attitude 6 string set

Buy Attitude 6 string single

Buy Attitude 7 string set

Buy Attitude 7 string single

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCcDggiRTQyFec5KAVHsC2xA

Attitude Humbucker – updated 5 May 2025

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Posted on March 29, 2020October 13, 2025 by mrglynspickups — 7 Comments

Black Sand Humbucker sized P90

Single Black Sand Humbucker sized P90 NZ$199 for NZ customers, if you’re overseas it’s GST free NZ$173.04

Pair Black Sand Humbucker sized P90 NZ$379 for NZ customers, if you’re overseas they’re GST free NZ$329.57

Alnico V, Neck- 6.96 KOhms, Bridge 7.94 KOhms

Buy Black Sand set

Buy Black Sand single

The Black Sand Humbucker sized P90 has all the clarity, punch and fullness of a P90 but built to fit humbucker guitars.

Perfect for most styles especially Blues, Classic Rock, Punk and even Extreme Metal.

Frank Brothers guitar with Mr Glyn's Pickups

Black Sand Description

The humbucker sized P90 (HBSP90) is a great pickup – it sits tonally between a humbucker and and a strat type pickup.

If your neck humbucker is a bit thick and woolly sounding, you want more clarity, or just want a different tone, then this versatile pickup may be the answer.

The physical size of this pickup is identical to that of a “normal” humbucker so it will pop straight in to any humbucker guitar. They’re designed to be used with 500k pots too so you don’t need to change anything.

P90 pickups do have a reputation for being noisy but the Black Sand not only comes with shielded cable but is encased in a metal cover. This cover makes a huge difference in reducing interference from outside sources making this a very quiet pickup.

There really is no musical genre the Black Sand Humbucker size P90 is best suited to, from blues to punk, rock or even funk there is a place for this sound just about everywhere. Have a listen to these demos, you’ll hear how well it adapts to any situation.

I don’t guide demo players in any way, I just ask them to do what they feel the pickup wants. That way we get different interpretations of the pickups and in this case it really shown off the versatility.

And scroll down to the picture at the bottom of this page – there are a lot of funky cover options to look cool in any guitar.

Here is Warren Mendonsa aka blackstratblues. He uses a Black Sand set in his Gibson es335. Go check him out, you can thank me later.

P90’s are different to other single coil pickups. They have a wide, flat coil similar to that of a Jazzmaster but the magnetic field is a very different shape. Fender single coil pickups have the coil wound around the magnet giving a focused, precise percussive sound. A P90 has 2 bar magnets underneath the coil; this broadens the magnetic window allowing the pickup to listen to a bit more string and thickens the sound. I chose Alnico V bar magnets for this model to help give some grit and power characteristic of a P90.

Of course, too much power and the pickup would sound too thick and bass heavy which is not its purpose. Too little power and it just won’t snarl. I have aimed this pickup set at the clearer end of the P90 spectrum.

To give you an idea of this pickup’s versatility here it is in drop E tuning:

Leon Todd visited the workshop in February 2024 after which I sent him a pickup set. It’s a Cloud Nine humbucker in the bridge position and a Black Sand humbucker sized-P90 neck pickup. I think you’ll agree they really give an extra dimension to his Les Paul.

The Black Sand Humbucker sized P90 story

The development of my Black Sand Humbucker sized P90 was a bit backwards.

Usually I make a bridge pickup first and work from there but with this one the neck pickup came first.

I had a customer ask for a neck pickup for an es335 to sound clearer than his existing Gibson humbucker. He was finding the lower mids of the humbucker were getting in his way and needed a clearer sound with more character.

I worked on the Black Sand Humbucker sized P90 neck pickup for a while using my Les Paul as a test guitar. There’s a balance to getting the right neck pickup sound. There needs to be a bit of power but a danger of becoming too boomy. It was a case of tweaking the windings until it was right. I sold a few neck pickups before thinking it would be a good idea to have a set. So I started work on the bridge pickup.

I wanted this bridge pickup to have clarity in the lower mids to stand out from humbuckers while having enough power to grit up nicely. I wanted it to be clean when tickled and to growl at you when you dig in. P90’s are all about dynamics. It had to match the existing neck pickup or work well as a stand alone in a HSS situation.

Of all the pickups in my range the Black Sand Humbucker sized P90 came together the quickest. There were only 4 or 5 prototypes and I was happy. Experience and intuition combined with a notebook where I’ve written down details of every experimental pickup I’ve made since 1995.

The main challenge with this pickup was taming the bass. The bass needed to be clean and ringing without a dominant boom. That’s where testing with a band is so useful. A pickup can sound great at home volumes but when its up loud the bass can be overpowering. If the bass is too far forward it walks all over the bass guitar and can ruin a mix.

There were a load of prototypes in and out of a Les Paul, Tele Delux and PRS, through different amps and in the hands of different players. I never trust just my own ears with my pickups. I like to get opinions and suggestions from a few players before making any final decisions. I listen to what players say and I adjust prototypes accordingly, but at the end of the day the final decision is mine. I’m always aware of the phrase “a camel is a horse designed by committee”.

It took a while to get this one right. A pickup would sound great at workshop volume, then I’d play it in a band situation and it would be too boomy, too much like a humbucker. So I’d have a think and make another. In the end persistence paid off.

The pickups I finally settled on went into my Les Paul and off to a gig for the ultimate test, and that’s where they’re staying.

The neck “Black Sand” is a great match for either my “Integrity” or “Cloud Nine” bridge humbuckers or as a set with its equivalent “Black Sand” bridge humbucker sized P90. It is equally happy with Gibson or Fender scale lengths as you can hear from the demos. Currently I gig a Flying V with a Black Sand neck pickup with a Cloud Nine in the bridge position. With the extra clarity from the Black Sand I find I use the neck position a lot more and it’s so good for playing ‘Sweet Child Of Mine’.

Black Sand design

Here is a short video to explain my thinking behind this HBSP90 design. Initially it was just going to be a neck pickup. The aim was to solve the problem of neck humbuckers sounding too wooly in some situations. Then came the Black Sand bridge pickup to match. Now the set has taken on a life of its own live and has become one of my most popular pickup sets.

Naming pickups is not easy, I agonized over what to call this pickup set.

I wanted a name that would reflect the apparent contradiction in P90’s. From the perspective of a humbucker player they are clear and chiming. From the viewpoint of a single coil player they are powerful and gritty. They’re one thing while looking like another. I wanted a oxymoron to reflect this contradiction, one that might include the unique magnetic structure that gives the P90 its character.

So I went for a run along Muriwai beach to think. And there it was staring me in the face (literally). Muriwai has black volcanic sand due to its iron content and it’s also magnetic. So I’ve called this set the Black Sand Humbucker sized P90.

Jimmy Christmas on stage using Black Sand Humbucker sized P90 — Jimmy Christmas – D4

I’m very happy with this pickup – hopefully you will be too.

I’ve been working on some new funky cover options. This pickup set finds it way into so many different kinds of guitars I felt it needed to have a lot of looks to match.

Black Sand Humbucker sized P90 cover options: sliders, nickel, black, toaster top, open, chrome; or cover in P90 style soapbar or dogear covers in black or cream.

Buy Black Sand set

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCcDggiRTQyFec5KAVHsC2xA

Buy Black Sand single

Please subscribe to the Mr Glyn’s Pickups newsletter (click the link below). There’s a new edition every 6 weeks or so with news of new products and options. There’s a merch giveaway so send in pics of your Mr Glyn’s loaded guitars. I love receiving pics, videos and links to bands using Mr Glyn’s pickups. Send them in, I’ll happily feature you on my social media.

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Sasst traditional P90 pickup by Mr Glyns Pickups

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Posted on March 29, 2020September 25, 2025 by mrglynspickups — Leave a comment

Silver Lady-vintage Telecaster

Single Silver Lady-vintage Telecaster NZ$139 for NZ customers, if you’re overseas it’s GST free; NZ$120.87

Set Silver Lady-vintage Telecaster NZ$269 for NZ customers, if you’re overseas it’s GST free; NZ$233.91

Alnico III, Bridge 5.9 KOhms, 3.18H, Neck 7.25 KOhms, 2.39H

Buy Silver Lady set

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Silver Lady-vintage Telecaster pickup set is designed for the traditional telecaster player. The bridge pickup has plenty of twang and clarity but is never harsh. The neck pickup full, clear and perfectly balanced with the bridge pickup.

Telecasters are brutally honest guitars. There’s no hiding behind fat mushy tones . If you can do it on a Telecaster then you really can really do it.

I wanted to make a Telecaster set that would reflect the clear honest tone of an old Tele. It’s a delicate balance to get enough treble and for the top end to have sufficient warmth to be usable, but with no hint of woof or boom in the bottom. The bottom needs to be full and clear with no hint of muddiness. The bridge needs a twang but it has to be a warm twang without being over harsh. I’ve used Alnico III magnets with a vintage style wind on both these pickups

Alnico III have low string pull which increases sustain. The lower power magnets let the strings ring more clearly.

All my magnets are specially made for me, they need to be just right.

This pickup set is primarily for clean Telecaster players. They are ideal for those classic country tones or for textural rhythm players. They’re great for giving a pure signal for modulation effects.

Through my repair work I’ve re-wound a lot of old Tele pickups. This is invaluable experience for designing my own version. I enlisted the help of a couple of experienced Telecaster players as test pilots. I really needed plenty of opinions and testing through a variety of amplifiers to get this one right.

I’m really happy with the warm classic tone of this set, clear and chiming with just the right twang. So I have given them a classic name – “Silver Lady”.

Silver Lady-vintage Telecaster

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Pandora 3 way esquire pickup by MrGlyns Pickups

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Posted on March 29, 2020September 18, 2025 by mrglynspickups — 1 Comment

Bellbird vintage Strat pickups

Single Bellbird NZ$139 for NZ customers, if you’re overseas it’s GST free; NZ$120.87

Set Bellbird NZ$375 for NZ customers, if you’re overseas they’re GST free; NZ$326.09

Bellbird vintage Strat pickups specifications: AlnicoV – Neck 5.68 KOhms, 2.36H, Middle 5.68 KOhms, 2.36H, Bridge 6.05 KOhms, 2.71H

Buy Bellbird set

Buy Bellbird single

The Bellbird vintage Strat pickups are a vintage voiced strat pickup strongly influenced by the pre-CBS Fenders of the early 60’s. Clear and chiming, low powered and pure. Suitable for a huge range of styles, ideal for that traditional tone.

Bellbird vintage Strat pickups demos

The Stratocaster has been around since 1954 and the legend continues. Reading the internet (!?) tells me there have been good and bad years or decades, guitars to avoid and ones worth hundreds of thousands of dollars. I’ve been repairing guitars since 1995 so I’ve played a lot of old Strats and analyzed a lot of old pickups. Vintage pickups aren’t all great but the good ones are fantastic.

In the 90’s there were a lot of old Fender pickups around and they were cheap back then. I got to work on and repair so many vintage pickups. There was very little available information so I had to figure everything out. Looking back I think it was such a good way to develop an instinct as to how to get a great sound. With all the old spec now available I’ve really enjoyed topping up my knowledge.

I’ve become a huge fan of the L series Strats. Every one I’ve played (particularly ’63’s) have been great guitars. It’s just a shame they’re so expensive now and very few of them get played at gigs.

I’ve based my Bellbird vintage Strat pickups on the best of the old pickups I’ve had the pleasure of playing through and studying. So I use AWG42 heavy formvar insulated wire – there’s something about the thickness of that insulation that just works with an old Strat pickup.

I’ve aimed for that old quacking chime that makes Strats wonderfully percussive but with a singing quality that’s so musical. Warm and clear with beautiful almost reverb-like clean tones – that’s what I want out of an old Strat. The neck pickup sound needs to be fat, round and clear, the middle pickup needs to quack and the bridge a cut through twang without thinness. The all important ‘in between’ sounds in positions 2 and 4 must be balanced and characterful. Nothing says Strat more than these sounds.

Bellbird Neck Pickup

The neck pickup on a Strat is the ‘go to’ setting for a lot of Strat players. In designing this set I realised this is what I had to get right first. In using heavy formvar insulated wire I’ve kept to tradition. I use heavy bevel alnico V magnets with my own custom stagger to suit modern string gauges.

Bellbird Middle Pickup

I love the quack of Strat middle pickups. I’ve worked hard to achieve that distinctive middle tone. There’s something great in that sound. The magnets are so important in achieving just the right percussive snap without harshness. The other factor with middle pickups is how they work alongside the neck and bridge pickups. Those all important in between sounds are the essence of Stratocasters. The Bellbird middle pickup is the ideal partner for both neck and bridge.

Bellbird Bridge Pickup

On the original early 60’s pickups all 3 were wound the same. I’ve chosen to give the bridge pickup a little extra, more like a late 70’s Strat Pickup. I want to reduce the ping of the attack and add a little more bottom end to make the bridge pickup more usable. I feel that makes this pickup set more suited to the modern player.

Under or Over Wound

At the checkout I have given you the option of having your Bellbirds under wound or overwound by 5%, or overwound by 10% as well as the standard wind. I don’t offer this for all pickups but the Bellbird is an equally good pickup in any of the 3 options. The early Fenders often varied within this range.

Standard Wind

The standard wind is the closest to the early 60’s Fenders. This is my personal favourite and all the demos are of the standard wind

Minus 5%

The minus 5% wind is for players wanting a super clean Strat sound. It has very clear treble and a little less bass than the standard wind. Suited to a very clean sound

Plus 5%

The extra 5% of windings gives a little more bass and slightly smoother treble along with that bit of extra power.

The Bellbird vintage Strat pickups has been designed mainly for clean tones but they’re certainly not afraid to perform with a bit of gain or fuzz. As part of a HSS set they’re great with one of my ‘Integrity’ humbuckers in the bridge position.

I agonised for months over names for my Strat pickup sets then during a camping trip to Tauwharanui Regional Park I heard my first Bellbird and realised that was the sound I had been looking for when I was designing this set.

The comparison in tone between the Bellbird and the more common Tui seemed exactly what I had in my head when designing my Strat pickups. Bellbirds don’t just go tweet, there’s a depth and warmth in the tone. It’s so hard to describe sound and the difference between pickups but I think the difference between the Bellbird and the Tui sum up the difference between my vintage and hot Strat pickups. So I called them the Bellbird and the Tui.

Ji Fraser, Six60 performing with Bellbird pickups, MrGlyns Pickups — Ji Fraser – Bellbird Pickups

Bellbird vintage stratocaster pickup set in black, by MrGlyns Pickups

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Updated September 2024

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updated 18 September 2025

Posted on March 29, 2020September 18, 2025 by mrglynspickups — 3 Comments

Tui hot Strat

Single Tui hot Strat NZ$139 for NZ customers, if you’re overseas it’s GST free; $120.87

Set Tui hot Strat NZ$375 for NZ customers, if you’re overseas they’re GST free; $326.09

AlnicoV – Neck 6.73KOhms, 3.22H, Middle 6.73 KOhms, 3.22H, Bridge 7.12 KOhms, 3.51H.

Buy Tui set

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The The Tui hot Strat set is designed for players wanting a little more from their Strat. A full sounding set suited best to blues and rock players. It will clean up with the best of them but is at its happiest playing dirty blues – think SRV and you’re getting there. Not only that, it’s the perfect Strat pickup for that Dave Gilmour tone.

They make a great neck and middle pickup as part of a HSS set with an Integrity or Cloud Nine bridge humbucker.

Full sounding and clear with a steel base plate to add that extra little push.

Dave Gilmour tone

In August of 2025 I went to see a set of my Tui pickups in action performing Pink Floyd. It was at the Civic Theater in Auckland. The lead guitarist was Brett Adams. He contacted me a couple of weeks before asking which of my pickups would give that Dave Gilmour tone. So I sent him some Tui. This is just recorded using my phone but I think you’ll agree they sound pretty special through a big PA.

It was quite an emotional experience for me.

Here’s some more Tui goodness, this time in a HSS configuration with a Cloud Nine humbucker.

And in HSS with an ‘Integrity’ humbucker. The Tui is the single coil I recommend with HSS sets, they work so well with that bridge humbucker.

I received this unexpected video from a customer:

What’s different about the Tui?

Here’s a video I made (with help from the dogs) to explain how the steel base plate adds to the bottom end of these pickups. It just gives that little extra push that I feel these pickups need.

The Tui hot Strat set story

The Tui hot Strat set is a step up in power from my Bellbird and Kokako sets while still retaining the character of the Stratocaster. This set is best suited to Blues/Rock players who like a bit of dirt. There’s more bottom end and smoother highs. It’s very well suited to HSS set ups alongside my Integrity or Cloud Nine humbuckers.

I’ve wound a lot of Strat pickups since I started in 1995. I started off re-winding cheap pickups and then moved on to repairing old dead Fender pickups. Every experiment was written down in a notebook with tone comments.

Back when I started there wasn’t much information available so there was a lot of reverse engineering and a lot of trying things out. That learning time was invaluable to developing instinct for how to change the sound of a pickup. I’ve still got the note book and I’m still adding to it.

In, I think, 2014 a customer of mine approached me wanting a set of Stratocaster pickups. He’s a great blues player and had recently moved from using a Les Paul to a Strat. He described the sound he was after and it seemed to me it was the same as I’d been after myself so I put some time in to designing a pickup set for him.

The Tui hot Strat needed to be most definitely a Strat sound. I hear plenty of Strat replacement pickups that are fine but just not Strat-ish enough. Secondly, I wanted a bit more power, just a bit, enough to make a good old valve amp clip a bit easier than a “vintage” pickup would. And there needed to be dynamics – tickle it and it’s clean, dig in and it grits up.

As I was making the original version of this set for a player used to humbuckers I wanted to reduce the ”ping” of the attack. I’ve added steel base plated as standard to this set. This changes the shape of the magnetic field, broadening the harmonic window. They add a wee bit of power, a wee bit of bass and reduce that pesky ping.

The neck pickup needed to have “that” Strat sound with fullness and clarity. It’s the ‘go to’ sound for most Strat players. The middle pickup needed to have some ‘quack’ to it with its own distinctive personality.

The bridge pickup shouldn’t be too thin, it needs to have plenty of highs but not too much of that ‘ping’ or it’s almost useless. Then there are the other sounds – positions 2 and 4, mistakenly referred to as ‘out of phase’. They are really just 2 pickups in parallel. It’s hard to predict what those sounds will be, there was a lot of experimenting.

So I consulted my old note book and wound a lot of pickups and fitted them in a few test Strats. I’ve been lucky enough to have some great players as repair customers and so I was able to get quite a few opinions.

Eventually I was happy and I fitted a set for my ex Les Paul customer and he loved them straight away. A few months later he contacted me to say he was still loving them. It’s great when players do that.

I’ve fitted Tui hot Strat sets into a lot of instruments and it turns out that not only blues players like them, they seem to work for everyone. I shouldn’t be surprised, the Stratocaster is such a versatile guitar, of course they do.

Further experiments have shown the Tui hot Strat pickups balance really well as part of a HSS set with either my Integrity or Cloud Nine humbuckers in the bridge position.

I agonised for months over names for my Strat pickup sets. Then, during a camping trip to Tauwharanui Regional Park, I heard my first Bellbird. The comparison in tone between the Bellbird and the more common Tui seemed exactly what I had in my head when designing my Strat pickups.

The Tui has turned out to be my best selling Stratocaster pickup. It appears there are a lot of players out there wanting a bit extra from their Strats without losing the character we all love.

Buy Tui set

Buy Tui single

updated 10 September 2025

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update 8 May 2023

Posted on March 29, 2020October 13, 2025 by mrglynspickups — 2 Comments

Cloud Nine-hot humbucker

6 String Cloud Nine hot humbucker Single NZ$219 for NZ customers, if you’re overseas it’s GST free; NZ$190.43,

Pair NZ$399 for NZ customers, if you’re overseas they’re GST free; NZ$346.96

Covers are NZ$20 ($17.39) extra each pickup

AlnicoV – Bridge 13.48 KOhms, 10.49H, Neck 7.9 KOhms 5.69H

Buy Cloud Nine set

Buy Cloud Nine single

The Cloud Nine-hot humbucker is a versatile ROCK pickup with plenty of mids, no shortage of power and with enough clarity to help you stand out in the mix. A great pickup set for the Blues/Rock player but also well suited to heavier sounds , think Randy Rhodes or EVH. It with push the front end of an amp but will also clean up especially with a treble bleed.

Cloud Nine in a Super Strat

Design

There are many factors determining the performance of a pickup. The Cloud Nine bridge pickup has asymmetrically wound coils. It not only has a different number of winds on each coil but they’re wound with a different number of turns per layer. Each of the two coils has a slightly different mid range response, This gives not only plenty of mids but a real mid range clarity. It means the pickup sits well in a mix.

The alnico 5 magnet that powers both neck and bridge are specially made for me to my spec.

The neck pickup is also asymmetrically wound for the same reasons. It’s wound to be fairly hot for neck pickup standards but with the alnico 5 magnet there is still high end clarity. It’s a big fat but clear neck pickup sound. This is a great fat lead tone rather than a funky rhythm pickup.

Cloud Nine bridge , Black Sand neck

Leon Todd visited the workshop in Feb 2024, I subsequently sent him a pickup set I thought might suit him.

Here is the result:

In a PRS SE

Out of the blue I received an email from a customer in Tasmania who had recently bought a Cloud Nine-hot humbucker bridge pickup. He sent me a link to these clips. In The Final Countdown the rhythm guitars are the Cloud Nine coil tapped.

In a Les Paul

It’s worth mentioning how many Les Paul players use the Cloud Nine. It may be the scale length or particular dynamics of a Les Paul but these pickups just sing in a LP.

In a mix

Check out Wellington band Curlys Jewels using Cloud Nine’s in a Les Paul.

Description

Here are descriptions of both bridge and neck pickups and my thinking behind the designs.

Cloud Nine-hot humbucker Story

I am at heart a man of ROCK.

Since the advent of the DiMarzio Super Distortion pickup players have been able to get some power out of their pickups, enough to really push an amp.

The neck pickup needed to be clear and present but with enough power for some of those sweet lead lines.

I wanted the bridge pickup to have power to scream with the best of them while retaining enough clarity to have definition. When I play a 7th chord I want to hear it as a 7th and not sound mushy like a John Deere tractor at full throttle.

It’s a real danger with hot pickups that they lose character and tone. I needed a crunchy rhythm with strong mids and an over the top lead sound. I want to get squawking pinched harmonics whenever I please. Not only that but I need it it to clean up nicely and react well to a treble bleed circuit. A humbucker for every situation, for players not afraid of a bit of gain.

Not much to ask, eh!

I got through a lot of wire and magnets experimenting over the years to get this set right. I suppose I worked on it for about 5 years, different magnets, winds, wire thickness, insulation, winds per layer – there are a lot of factors. Whenever I felt I was close I used them at a gig to hear how they sat in the band. Pickups can sound quite different next to a drummer or in a mix. I tweaked and adjusted…

Eventually I was happy with the design and I was lucky enough to have legendary Kiwi band ‘Head Like A Hole’ help out with road testing. I knew if they came back from tour happy then I was on to a winner. They did.

It was a long process getting this pickup design just right but its a process I only have to go through once. When the design is finalized that’s it. Part of my desire to get it perfect is the knowledge that I’ll be using this design for the rest of my life.

When you get it right it feels so good, a sensitive pickup rich in harmonics is so much fun so I called it the “Cloud Nine” which how I felt at the end of it all.

This is the pickup set I gig with myself in my covers band now. I have them in both an Epiphone Sheraton and also in my Flying V. With this set up it works for everything from The Smiths to Metallica and all points in between. I don’t feel the need to swap guitar – these pickups work for everything. I have done literally hundreds of gigs with the Cloud Nine in countless venues, it always performs.

Matt Carson from Tablefox. Cloud Nine-hot humbucker — Matt Carson on stage with zebra Cloud Nine’s

Double Cream humbucker - Mr Glyns Pickups. Cloud Nine-hot humbucker

The Cloud Nine set comes with 4 conductor wire as standard to give you all the switching options you could ever need. I recommend series/parallel switching with this set. The bridge pickup is available in both 52mm and 49.2 mm spacing. If you need any help deciding which spacing is right for your guitar please get in touch via email, I’m always happy to help.

Here are some of the cover options available for the Cloud Nine humbucker set; I’m happy to age the covers; please just add a comment at the time of your order.

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Posted on March 29, 2020October 21, 2025 by mrglynspickups — 1 Comment

Integrity-vintage humbucker

Integrity-vintage humbucker Single NZ$219 for NZ customers, if you’re overseas it’s GST free; NZ$190.43

Integrity-vintage humbucker Pair NZ$399 for NZ customers, if you’re overseas they’re GST free; NZ$346.96

Cover NZ$20 ($17.39) extra each pickup

Alnico II – Bridge 8.02 KOhms, 6.43H. Neck 7.41 KOhms, 5.57H

Buy Integrity set

Buy Integrity single

Inspired by the early Gibson PAF pickups the Integrity-vintage humbucker give the classic full balanced tone we all love.

Asymmetric coils give an open sounding mid range and the rough cast Alnico II magnet gives clarity and balance. A rich bottom end, characterful mids and sweet treble make this a pickup set for every situation. Jazz, Blues, Rock, it does it all.

Every pickup manufacturer makes a “Vintage” humbucker based on the Gibson PAF, of course they do – old Gibsons sound so good.

So how come they all sound so different? Well, the simple answer is that PAF’s were all different. Of any guitar pickups you’ll come across these are possibly the most variable.

I’ve been a full time luthier since 1995, whenever I come across an old humbucker I test the ohms and the gause and have a good listen. They’re all different. My conclusion is that pickup manufacturers have taken the PAF they like and based their own version on that. Old PAF’s vary so much so modern ones do as well.

Here is Nik Dobbin show off an Integrity set. The guitar is an all mahogany PRS Santana SE II from the early 2000’s.

Integrity-vintage humbucker requirements

I have designed my own version to be clear sounding, have obvious string separation and definition and to keep clarity no matter how much gain. The mids must be strong and woody, this is not a “scooped” pickup. The clean sound needs to be chimey and clear with no mush; through a valve amp I want clarity. When I tickle it I want clean and vocal sounding when it clips. The bridge pickup needs to be well behaved with high gain and clear with enough cut through so the drummer knows you’re there. The neck smooth, clear and articulate. Warm but with none of the boom you get with a more powerful pickup.

I don’t want much do I.

My “Integrity”-vintage humbucker has a rough cast Alnico II magnet. It uses plain enamel insulated magnet wire with asymmetric coils to open up the mids, just like the originals. Asymmetry in the coils creates a clearer mid range.

The very first pickup I ever made back in 1995 was a PAF style and I’ve been tweaking the recipe ever since.

Studying the intricacies of this pickup design have given me a huge respect for Seth Lover the designer of the original Gibson PAF. My version is not an exact replica of the originals, rather my own take on them. I have worked on countless PAF pickups over the years. I feel I have a good take on what makes them tick.

Its hard to imagine the guitar world without the PAF. Would Gibson be such a popular band without Seth Lover’s contribution? Its hard to say.

Like all my pickups I’ve used a number of test pilot players in its development as well as gigging it myself. Countless hours have gone into the testing stage of this design.A huge thanks to all the players and engineers involved in the development.

These pickups were played in studios and on stages in the hands of numerous players long before I gave them a name or built this website.

I made my first PAF type pickup in around 1995. It wasn’t until 2015 that I finally settles on this particular design. It has been a very long road for the integrity humbucker set. I am delighted to be offering them to you.

Here’s a great little demo of the Integrity’s in a mix. I encourage you to go and subscribe to this YouTube channel.

A Pickup in 4 Flavours

This pickup is available in 4 flavors to cover the various applications of this versatile pickup. You can select your option at the checkout.

The idea behind the 4 flavors is to simplify things for you. Rather than have 4 separate pickups with a similar vibe I’ve put them all under the umbrella of ‘Integrity’.

All 4 flavors fit within the range of the original PAF pickups. If you’re a Jazz or a rock player there’s an Integrity that will suit your style. All the pickups within this range use the same alnico II magnet, it’s just the windings that differ. If you are unsure which will work best for you just get in touch. I’m always happy to discuss your requirements.

The Standard wind –

This is the one I feel is the best balance between output and tone. All the demos are of this version unless otherwise stated. After my years of experimenting this is the version I like the best and use myself.

5% Underwound –

This has 5% less winding than the standard pickup. Less wire means less power but it also reduces the bass and gives a little more high end sparkle. If you want a low powered very clean humbucker this is for you. This one is all about clarity. Especially suited to archtop guitars. Here’s a nice little demo from TheSuperFunAwesomeHappyTimePedalShow.

Alex wanted a vintage vibe from his ’70’s Yamaha. He isn’t a rock player so was more concerned about the clean sound and light break up.

Integrity 5% under wound

A customer sent this little demo of his 5% under wound set. This is a great example showing how they respond to both clean and dirty sounds.

5% Overwound –

More winding mean a little more power but more significantly an increase in bass. Ideal for players wanting a classic rock tone or in HSS Strats.

Here is Nick Granville talking about his 5% over wound Integrity in the bridge position of a Strat.

He went for the Double Cream bobbins to match his single coils. I think you’ll agree it looks great.

10% Overwound –

An increase in power and bass from the standard pickup. Still very much the PAF vibe but with a bit more. This is a great rock pickup with the dynamic range to clean up nicely but with the power to push you amp. Suited to players using dirtier sounds from classic rock to Slash to early Van Halen.

The Integrity comes with 4 conductor wire to give you all the switching options. I very lightly wax pot the Integrity to reduce microphonic feedback but to retain some of the microphonic character of the originals.

The thinking behind the Integrity set

Here are a couple of short videos to explain the thinking behind the Integrity pickup set and its variants.

Integrity Neck Pickup

Integrity Bridge Pickup

In a HSS Strat

Here are a few videos showing the Integrity in different situations.

The full and honest sound of the Integrity-vintage humbucker along with it’s timeless tone inspired the name “Integrity”. https://mrglynspickups.com/

There are a number of cover options so you can choose how your Integrity looks. Uncovered options are black, double white, double cream, and zebra or reverse zebra (in either cream or white) at no additional charge. Or you can add a cover to your purchase in: black, gold, chrome, nickel, sliders, gatsby or open raw nickel at $20 per pickup ($40 for a set).

Feel free to inquire about variations of these cover options. I can, for instance use gold screws with the black covers.

If you would like your pickup aged don’t hesitate to ask. I can do any degree of ageing from just reducing the glare to the full steam punk treatment. If you are matching your new pickup to an old guitar I will ask for some photos of your guitar. That’s the best way for me to match the degree of ageing to suit you. I always enjoy working with my customers to achieve what they want.

Buy Integrity set

https://keningtonmusic.com/

Buy Integrity single

Integrity-vintage humbucker

Testimonials

I put the integrity pick ups into my Jim Root Jazzmaster last week.
I gigged with the guitar on Sat night and am so happy.
They have the versatility that I’m looking for.
Thanks

Bought a set of Mr Glyn’s Integrity humbuckers and they are awesome! These pickups do everything from clean to blues rock to screaming distorted rock tones. So great to just roll off the volume, have it clean up but still stay loud and defined. My guitar is now super versatile and sounds great! Thanks

Integrity-vintage humbucker – updated 21 Oct 2025

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Posted on March 29, 2020September 18, 2025 by mrglynspickups — 2 Comments

Cruel Mistress hot Tele

Single Cruel Mistress hot Tele NZ$139 for NZ customers. If you’re overseas it’s GST free; $NZ120.87

Pair Cruel Mistress hot Tele NZ$269 for NZ customers. If you’re overseas they’re GST free; $NZ233.91

AlnicoV – Bridge 10.65 KOhms, 4.96H. Neck 7.25 KOhms, 2.48H

Buy Cruel Mistress set

Buy Cruel Mistress single

Mr Glyns Cruel Mistress hot Tele Pickups are designed for the Tele player who wants more than the traditional country twang. They have a full bottom end, cut through mids and a top end that is strong but never harsh. They’ll push your amp that bit harder without losing that Telecaster character.

Brett Kingman demos (I think he likes them)

More Cruel Mistress hot Tele demos

Description

There is nothing like the high end snarl of a good Tele bridge pickup. However, Telecaster Pickups are complicated. It’s a sound that needs to be just right. Too much treble and it can sound grating and obnoxious, too little and it just isn’t a Tele. The treble needs warmth while still cutting through a mix like a zombie banjo.

I wanted to make a pickup with more power to drive an amp harder while keeping the Tele character. My biggest concern was not losing what a Tele is all about.

In my repair work I came across a lot of replacement Telecaster pickups that just don’t sound like Teles. Bridge pickups need grit and the neck a chimey clarity and together they should be full and open and matched well enough to create almost a reverb sound with the switch in the middle position. Good Telecasters have a very distinctive tone and I felt I needed to retain that but at the same time offer more.

The Cruel Mistress hot Tele uses Alnico V magnets to help with the attack and AWG43 wire for the snarl.

A Tele neck pickup needs to be smooth and warm and have a great balance with the bridge pickup so that the middle position rings with an almost reverb-like tone. The difficulty with Telecaster neck pickups is there just isn’t much space under that cover. As a result it can be a hard pickup to get right and there were a lot of experiments and disappointments on the way. Eventually I came on a design that has enough bottom end to sound full but not so much to sound boomy. And the final pickup was a great match to the bridge.

I had help from the ears of a couple of pro players who were generous enough to let me load their guitars with prototype pickups for testing. The whole process takes time and only after many road tests and versions did I fix on a design. As a result, each of my designs have been developed over many years of subtle changes and road tests. Having help like this means my pickups are trialled by different players, through many different amps and playing styles. The neck/bridge balance as well as dynamics/compression need to be tested in as many situations as possible to find a pickup that will work for most players.

So if you need some grit and aggression from your Telecaster Pickups this is the set for you.

Cruel Mistress Tele pickup set on stage with Rob Lock — Rob Lock

Telecaster Bridge pickup, MrGlyns Pickups

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCcDggiRTQyFec5KAVHsC2xA

updated 19 May 2025

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Buy Cruel Mistress single

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